Fate is a bitch
by Meyou1
Summary: Kokonoe is sick of waiting for her teacher to open up to her and so she decides to force his hand. Will she succeed or will this only complicate things? KokonoexAoki
1. Don't ignore me!

Greetings everyone! This is another Aoki x Rin fanfic which I decided to write just out of boredom. Hope you will enjoy it, have fun! Reviews are always welcome!

_Text in italics means the character's inner voice._ **Text in bold means words which are emphasized by the character mostly by screaming. **

Didn't think too much about the exact period when I should place this fanfic in the _Kodomo no Jikan_ timeline but I would say it's somewhere between season 1 and season 2.

**Fate is a bitch**

** Chapter 1**

** Don't ignore me!**

~Classroom~

The day was sunny and perfect. It wasn't too cold and the very low, gentle and warm breeze was making it so that it wasn't too hot either. The sky was clear and shining the radiance of the sun onto the people below giving them its love and making their lives all the better. The birds could be heard chirping in a nearby tree as a sign of the happiness that Mother Nature decided to bestow upon them.

And if he could enjoy the lullaby that those birds were delighting his ears with then that was always a good sign. That meant that everyone in that classroom was either staring at him as he wrote on the chalkboard this new math problem or they were so bored that they pulled out some manga they liked or a book or even a video game and started wasting time doing nothing at all. It was most probably the later although he didn't mind it.

As long as the classroom was silent and the kids wouldn't give him a headache he was happy with just that. After all the shit he had to go through this year he thought that he deserved at least that.

Aoki: "_(sigh) The life of a teacher is simply ruthless…._" he mentally noted as his hands continued to draw white lines on the chalkboard. This was math. And he used to enjoy math.

When he had been the age of these kids he had been top of the class at this subject (and most of the other subjects as well). At that time he had been proud of his achievements and, truth be told, he really wanted to go back to those old and simple days. Back then he didn't have a job, nor did he have to. He didn't need to worry about money or anything else really. Sure, he hadn't been the most popular kid in school but at least he had a happy life, being praised by the teachers, playing with his friends and making fun of the girls. Those were the good old times.

Aoki: "_(violently shaking his head)_ _Snap out of it, Aoki! A teacher shouldn't daydream during the class! I should really concentrate on what I'm doing here!_" although he thought that he couldn't help it. Never in his life had he thought of fractions being as boring as they were then.

He was doing his best to concentrate on the lesson and not let his mind wander off in places where it shouldn't be.

Aoki: "OK class, this should be very simple for you!" he smiled cheeringly as he turned around to face his pupils. As expected, most of the kids had a bored look on their faces, none even trying to understand what he had been trying to teach them this whole time. Then again, most kids were supposed to be like that so he couldn't really blame them. "So, does anyone know how to solve this problem?" he motioned towards the blackboard while scanning the classroom for signs of any brilliant mind in there.

However, as much as he wanted to find anyone willing to participate in this activity, almost everyone showed no willingness to abide to his request. Most kids were either staring at him with eyes which clearly read _when will the bell ring already?_ or they simply kept playing with their cellphones under the desk thinking that he wasn't aware of them. He sighed.

This was the common atmosphere he got during every day in class. He had to agree that he wasn't too happy about this but when he turned his head a little further he saw her.

That girl was keeping her hand up desperately seeking for his attention with excruciating enthusiasm. Just looking from her eyes you could tell that she was almost begging for him to pick her.

The man let out yet another groan. He hated her. Normally a teacher should be very happy when a student is this energetic to participate in class, especially when everyone else seemed to not give a fuck about the lesson at all, but this was no normal situation.

Aoki: "_(sighing)_ Yes, Kokonoe?" he closed his eyes in annoyance at saying those words. He really didn't want to pick her, not even one bit. However, she was the only kid in the whole class who was waving her hands to answer his question so he had no choice but to pick her. Truthfully he wasn't very eager in choosing her simply because he knew that rewarding her attempts at getting his attention would only fuel that hyperactive little girl but he also knew that if he ignored her, the only student who was willing to participate in class, then he might just discourage her and lose her as well. This was just so unfair.

Rin: "HAI!" she spat energetically. "Firstly, we should amplify the first fraction with 6 so that the denominators of both fractions become 24. After that happens we can then add the first numerator to the second one and copy one of the denominators into a new fraction. As such, we'll get 24 over 24! And since the numerator is the same as the denominator the result is 1!" and, to no surprise, she was 100% correct. Then again, it wasn't like he was expecting anything else from her.

She had been keeping both her eyes and ears glued to him ever since he had entered the classroom. And although he should be proud of her performances right now and even praise her he wasn't going to do that.

Aoki: "That is correct, Kokonoe!" he forced himself to say. He couldn't believe how annoyed he was getting because of a student who was actually doing her work. However, the reason he was so annoyed was obvious: this particular student wasn't working so hard just because it was her job or because she was actually interested in math.

No, it was nothing like that. She was just trying to show off in front of him and impress him with her knowledge in that field. True, she was smart and he would even go as far as saying that she was the brightest student in the whole class. But what annoyed him was that she was currently learning just to later get a "reward" out of him. Basically, this was her way of saying that she was working hard and she should be rewarded by him for being so diligent. And the thought of the 'reward' she was waiting from him only made him even more uncomfortable.

Aoki: "_(exasperated) Kokonoe, why do you always have to be like this? Why can't you just be like any other student? Why do you always have to complicate my life?_" but as much as he wished for peace and quiet, he already knew that he would never get that lucky as to actually have them.

~During the end of the class~

Rin: "Hey, sensei!" she called out to him before he had the chance to pack his materials and leave the classroom. He really hated how after every single class she had to do this to him. "How was I? Do you think I've gotten any better?" she asked him girly while also throwing him a sweet smile.

If he didn't know what evil lurked behind those demonic monstrous lips of hers he would have been fooled by them. Still, after being her teacher for almost a year now he liked to think that he was used to her mindset already.

Aoki: "Yes, Kokonoe. You definitely have improved over the last months. You are most definitely headed for success!" he really hated being this kind to her but he had no other choice. As a teacher he had to show kindness and support to his pupils, that was one of his many duties. And of course, he had to oblige to them.

Rin: "Nene, don't you think I deserve a reward from you? I mean, after all that hard work I should get something to keep me motivated to learn, isn't that right?" eh, how disgusting.

This was the tenth time this week she said this and he couldn't help but flinch an eyebrow at this girl's persistence. Even worse, she wasn't even trying to hide her real intentions anymore. She said even out loud this time the reason why she was so "motivated" to learn.

Aoki: "For the last time, Kokonoe, I'm willing to give you any reward you want as long as it's not a kiss!" he really felt the need to just make a dash towards the door and leave this accursed room.

Rin: "Sensei, are you saying you want to go even further? I never knew you liked to rush things like that!" she blushed a little just to see his reaction. The man immediately stiffened at those words. "Sensei, you're so bold. Then again, if that's what sensei wants then I'm willing to ob-…."

Aoki: "THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" he felt a migraine forming in the very depths of his skull. Something which he had hoped not to have again anytime soon after he had gotten rid of the last one just a couple of days ago. "Look, Kokonoe. I really like the way you work hard and give your best during class just to learn everything I'm teaching you. Still, if you're doing all of these just to get a 'reward' then it's useless. I've already told you that I won't do anything to you no matter how many times you'll ask me. So please, if you really want something from me just ask, but just don't make it related to my lips, cheek, ears or anything of the sorts" he tried to be as reasonable as possible with her.

Rin: "Then how abou-….?"

Aoki: "Oh and no physical contact at all!" he made sure to finish his idea before she could end her sentence just to halt any twisted proposal which might exit her mouth.

Rin: "That's not fair! Sensei, it's been a couple of months since we've done anything together! You didn't even let me kiss your cheek this whole time!" she complained as if any of those actions were supposed to be normal.

Aoki: "That's how a teacher's relationship with his students is supposed to be. What would you have wanted instead?" he really felt like they were going nowhere with this conversation at all. He never liked arguing with her like this and he had to admit that he could just bend down and kiss her forehead or something and that should be enough to satisfy this girl and finally silence her.

However that was not the way things were supposed to be done and he knew it. If he ever did anything like that then it would mean that he lost the battle and gave in to her temptations. And that would only encourage her to keep doing that in the future with him whenever she wanted something. He couldn't allow that to happen.

Not only will that mean allowing himself to do something indecent in school but that would also mean he was manipulated by his own student and that would lower his pride as a teacher.

He just couldn't afford that! He had to put his foot down once and for all!

Rin: "But-…"

Aoki: "No means no, Kokonoe! Besides, I already said that we should stop doing those things. It might give people the wrong impression!" however, those words didn't seem to tame her in any way. If anything, they were even making her even more heated.

Rin: "What wrong impression? Aren't boyfriend and girlfriend supposed to kiss each other? That's what a relationship means, sensei!" she kept with her pleas as his anger began to fill his mind.

Aoki: "_(sigh)_ Look, Kokonoe. I'm really not in the mood for any of this. For the last time, I am not your boyfriend and we are not a couple! Ok? Now, can you just go back to your desk and play with your friends? There's no use in wasting your break like this!" he was almost pleading right now. He couldn't believe how much he was lowering himself just to get this girl off his back. It almost felt like she was a parasite feeding off his own life force.

Rin: "But…but….we've kissed each other! You even said you loved me! How can you be this cruel?!" she put on her puppy dog eyes once again as she was faking crying. The man didn't want to see those eyes. Those were the eyes that Satan himself used to deceive mortals such as himself with. He will not let himself be fooled!

Aoki: "Those were just things that happened. However, we can't live in the past forever. We need to move on! What happened doesn't matter anymore! What does matter is that you're my precious student and that you shouldn't think of any of that and just forget about everything that happened between us, ok?" he decided that if normal coercion wouldn't work then he would just have to compliment her and maybe that would work. Still, that didn't seem to calm the girl either.

Rin: "Sensei? Why are you saying all of this? Are you mad at me? Did Rin do something bad and anger you?" she looked at him with innocent girly eyes knowing that that should be enough to seduce him. This was the first time she saw so much resistance from him. And even more, he didn't seem to break even after this. He was still keeping his composure.

Aoki: "No, Kokonoe. You didn't do anything. It's just that….." he paused for a second trying to think of a proper way to phrase his thoughts.

Rin: "That…..?" she said trying to force the words out of his mouth.

Aoki: "…that I'm really busy and I don't have time playing with you anymore, ok? I really am sorry but I can't do much about this. However, your friends should keep you company from now on. Go play with them and forget about your sensei!" he didn't know how much longer he could last. Every inch of his mind was at its breaking point. He swore that if this girl would not leave him alone soon he would simply resort to begging her.

Luckily for him though his persistence seemed to pay off as the girl got angry and decided to just let her frustration out through screaming.

Rin: "Sensei, you're mean!" she yelled before running away. He sighed. He really wasn't surprised about this outcome. Then again, he was in a way relieved that he had managed to finally express his feelings to her. Now that he got everything off his chest maybe, just maybe, she would finally understand that this so called 'relationship' was going nowhere and that they should stop (or rather she should stop).

Aoki: "Eh….well….I should really just not think too much about it and just enjoy the rest of my break!" he said to himself before exiting the classroom.

~Girl's bathroom~

Rin continued to stare at her own reflection in the mirror as her two friends kept standing there each by her side trying to be supportive.

Kuro: "I don't get why you're so sad just because of him! That stupid virgin isn't even worth the trouble you know!" she was really trying to help out her friend although this was making Rin even sadder.

Mimi: "Rin-chan, you shouldn't be this sad. Aoki-sensei is just a little busy right now and so he can't be with you! You shouldn't let that get to you though!" no matter how much support she seemed to receive from her friends it didn't seem to help at all.

Rin: "He went back to ignoring me again…..to treating me as a child….was it because of something I did?" she kept staring in the mirror as every single part of her brain was being used to figure out the reason why her teacher had become so distant to her yet again.

Mimi: "I'm sure that whatever the reason may be, it isn't Rin-chan's fault!"

Kuro: "Yeah, it's because of him! That thickheaded virgin doesn't even how to talk with a girl without hurting her!"

Rin: "Maybe….but I wonder…if he lost interest in me….." she said to herself as her friends looked shocked at her statement.

Mimi: "L-l-lost interest?!" she repeated her words with a shocked tone.

Rin: "_(with an expressionless voice)_ Mhm….."

Kuro: "Nonsense! A lolicon like him would not stop until he gets into your pants! Don't let yourself be fooled, Rin-chan!" but everything was in vain.

Rin's head was set to something and that something was to find out if Aoki was still interested in her or not. She knew he had liked her once, that was obvious.

However, how long will that last? Or was that period over already and he had already forgotten all about her? Did he go for that teacher once again?

These questions kept ringing in her head as she couldn't help but wonder what course of action she should take.

Rin: "I have no idea what to do anymore…" she voiced her doubts to her friends.

Kuro: "Eh…..no matter what you want to do….." she put her hand over her shoulder. "…..always know that you have our support!" she winked at her closest friend.

Rin: "Kuro-chan….."

Kuro: "I don't get it why you're so much interested in a failure of a man like him but I don't want to see you sad, Rin-chan. If you are in doubt and want to test him out, then me and Mimi-chan are here to help you no matter what!" she managed to get through Rin and boost up her mood once again.

At those words Kokonoe realized how stupid it was for her to just stand there like that and only think about those things and so she pulled herself together.

Rin: "You're right! Sorry about that! I don't need to get this sad when I have friends like you 2 around me!" she got back into her cheery mode as both Kuro and Mimi smiled at her as a sign of them giving her their full support. "Arigato, mina!" and with that renewed stamina and hope the young blonde pupil decided that self-pity time was over and that she should really start doing something useful.

~ Teacher's lounge~

Aoki: "_(sigh)_ This is so hard!" he continued to complain even in the lounge as his other colleagues threw curious looks at him.

Hōin: "Sensei, are you alright?" a female mature-looking teacher decided to ask him when she saw his tired looking figure.

Aoki: "Ah, Kyōko-san?" he was a little surprised by the sudden appearance of his colleague. "Eh, nothing. It's just that I'm having a hard time with my students and it's pretty tough!" he decided to let his frustration all out by confessing his problems to his coworkers. Immediately after hearing that almost everyone in that room smiled knowingly like they had been in that situation as well before and that they pitied him right now.

Kenta: "Ah, the same old story. Let me guess, kids getting on your nerves?" the man in the back of the room smiled at his young counterpart in an attempt to extract the reason for his tiredness.

Aoki: "Well, not really. Just one particular student!" he said as another female teacher decided to barge into the conversation.

Sae: "If it's just one student who's causing all the trouble can't you just call his parents and talk to them about it? Leaving the problem alone will solve nothing!" for once Shirai decided to finally give him some advice regarding his job although Aoki didn't find it that helpful.

Aoki: "Well…I really doubt that will work in this case" he didn't want to give away too much information about the troublemaker's identity to his colleagues simply because he felt that it was unnecessary.

Hōin: "Then, may I ask, at least what kind of student he is? A boy or a girl? Maybe I can talk to her if she is a girl! Young girls usually tend to trust women more than men" well, that could be a solution.

Aoki thought about it and he realized that it didn't sound like a bad idea. Maybe Hōin would be able to help him?

Sae: "Hōin-sensei, there are things that a teacher should be able to do by himself. Aoki-sensei is inexperienced and should learn how to deal with this situation by himself!" and, of course, her good moments soon came to an end and she just had to make things even harder for the young man.

Hōin: "Demo, there are some things that can't be learned without making mistakes as well! As teachers shouldn't we try to avoid committing any slips while we gain experience? If we can help Aoki-sensei ourselves then we can make sure tha-…."

Sae: "That what, Hōin-sensei? That he won't commit any mistake by himself?" at those words Hōin suddenly halted herself and remained silent as she had realized what she was saying. "Are you saying that you're willing to help Aoki-sensei just to make sure he won't commit any fatal error with one of our students?" when she pressed Hōin understood what the problem was now. "Hōin-sensei, do you have no faith in Aoki?" at those words the other female felt her heartbeats increase just because of the sudden pressure applied to her.

Sae: "Indeed, there are many blunders that teachers can make and those missteps can even lead to unspeakable disasters, not just for him but for the whole school. However, as a teacher it is our duty to learn from our mistakes as well and be sure to tread carefully when gaining experience. If Aoki can't figure things out by himself and solve his class' problems without starting a riot then that means that he is not worthy of being a teacher in the first place!" and with those words the entire chamber went completely silent. Nobody wanted to say anything else as the shock and uneasiness were making this scene even more unbearable to watch.

Aoki: "I understand!" suddenly one of them decided to speak up in a confident tone. "Do not worry about me! I shall solve all the problems of my class by myself! I won't allow any of my students to do whatever they please and I won't let anyone be ignored or mistreated while they are under me! I shall do my best to learn everything I can without causing any more problems to this school! You can count on me!" breaking this heavy atmosphere was a great decision from his part as both Hōin and Kenta smiled at his sudden conviction and even Sae decided to leave the man alone and return to her own work.

Kenta: "That's the spirit, sensei! We'll be cheering for you!" despite this nice atmosphere the door to the lounge suddenly flew open and all the teachers turned around to find a young girl entering their private chamber.

Sae: "This room is reserved only for us teachers, young lady. You are not allowed to do whatever you want! Please exit immediately!" however Kokonoe did not listen as she continued to head towards her sensei.

Rin: "Demo, I'm just here to give sensei something! I'll be out in no time!" she said before arriving in front of Aoki. "Sensei, I decided to bring you a present! Hope you don't mind!" she smiled as she handed the man a drawing she made the day before. Aoki couldn't help but stare at the picture in his hands.

Aoki: "Ah…arigato…..Kokonoe…." he tried to be calm as he stared at the piece of paper in front of him not really sure what he was supposed to see in it.

Hōin: "Ah, how cute! Look, a couple kissing! Is that you and your boyfriend by any chance, Rin-chan?" apparently Hōin-sensei was able to understand that horrible drawing.

Rin: "Hai! That's me and sensei there!" at those words Sae's face twisted in such a way that the sound of bones breaking was heard from her skull. Hōin herself went wide-eye at her as Aoki's face turned pure red at this girl.

Aoki: "K…kk…KKKKokonoe!" he began to growl at her as the girl, at the sight of his face, began to laugh hysterically.

Rin: "Ah, sensei, you're blushing haha! You're so cute!"

Aoki: "K….o….KO…..NOE!" he began to rush after her as she sprinted outside of the lounge with him right after her leaving the other adults in that room completely bewildered.

Kenta: "Well…I don't know what's going on really but one thing's for sure! Even if he's new here, Aoki really does get along really well with his students!"

~On the way to Rin's house~

Rin: "_Well, that didn't really work….._" she lamented while walking down a dark alley towards her house. For the past few hours she had been thinking of a way to find out if her teacher still had any feelings for her. Today it hadn't seemed like he was completely ignoring her but he did not show any affection or kindness to her anymore as he usually did. That hurt her.

It felt like he was growing more and more distant to her by each day. She needed to make him want her. None of her attempts at flirting with him really ended in success up until now and that was a huge problem. She needed a plan, something to make him at least confess to her. And she had no idea how to do that.

When she arrived at her house and opened the door she was welcomed by a stack of boxes.

Rin: "I'm hom…ah?" she looked in complete confusion at the weird containers scattered around everywhere on the floor. Everything seemed completely weird when she looked at this scene. "Ha?"

Reiji: "Ah, Rin. Welcome home! Did you have a good day at school?" her guardian tried to greet her in the gentlest way possible, as usual.

Rin: "Reiji….what's with all these boxes? Where did they come from?" she asked as she began to open them and see what's inside.

Reiji: "Ah, those? Don't worry too much about them! It's just that I got the day off and decided to clean up the house since I arrived early today. While looking around I realized that some organizing was in order and so I began to collect everything that was useless around the house and stack them in boxes so that I can later throw them away!"

Rin: "What? You mean you're throwing all this away?" she said still scavenging through all the old and useless stuff she could find. "Don't tell me you're throwing away any of my dolls!"

Reiji: "Huh, don't worry about that! I haven't touched your room at all! Though I would really appreciate it if you did start to clean your room as well and put all the garbage in a box too before dinner is ready!" he said before leaving her and going deeper into the house to finish what he had been doing before the girl arrived.

Rin: "Ah, what? Do I really have to?" she said still exploring and analyzing everything that she came across in the box she was currently searching. Soon she came across a suspicious envelope which read "Aki Kokonoe – chest radiograph -22.01.2000". "Huh? What's this?"

Not really sure about the contents of the envelope the young female opened it and pushed her hand inside to pull out whatever was in there. After a few seconds she found herself extracting a plastic sheet with a peculiar image drawn on it. The image was weird, mostly black in the background and with a skeletal structure drawn on it in the foreground with bones which seemed to be slightly glowing.

Rin: "_Huh? Wasn't this what the doctors used to look inside ka-san when she was sick?_" she took a closer look at the sheet in her hand only to find on a corner of it being drawn or rather written something. "Kokonoe A…" she tried to read what was written there but the image was so distorted because of the background color and the age of that sheet that the second word was almost impossible to read anymore. The letters were just undistinguishable. However, Kokonoe knew very well that this was supposed to be her mother's when she had been in the final stage of her disease. She could remember that.

And…just that moment….at that exact second an idea popped up in her tiny little head as a leer formed on her facial expression. An evil evil one.

Rin: "_Hmm, maybe this would work!_"

If you haven't guessed this already, this is going to be a multipart story. So, if you get bored quickly (in which case I don't know how you're even reading this if you finished this entire chapter) then I would suggest skipping this story simply because there is much to read. Also, don't expect this to be the best written fanfic of all time. I'll do my best to keep everything in check and not make too OOC moments in the story but it's simply impossible to get a 100% clean and accurate scenario. Also, I would really appreciate it if you would let me know of your thoughts and opinions regarding my story through a review. Thanks in advance! ^_^

And for those of you who are fans of my previous fanfic _Ryou's Past_ I have to admit that I didn't work at it for a couple of years now and I already lost all my ideas. So I decided to quit that fanfic permanently. Please forgive me! I will try my best not to leave any story unfinished anymore. I'm sorry for everything but if you are willing to forgive me please leave in a review of this new story your opinion whether I should delete that story or not.

Have a good day.


	2. Don't underestimate me

**Chapter 2**

**Don't underestimate me**

~Somewhere around town~

Kuro: "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" the young black-haired girl almost screamed the contents of her whole chest out. The volume of her voice was enough to make even the nearby windows vibrate which not only disturbed the local people living there but also earned her a few glares from citizens passing by.

Rin: "Shhh. Stop shouting!" she tried to calm her friend down and also not give away her plan. "And yes, I am serious…."

Kuro: "But…I don't mind doing that to the virgin but…..seriously…..isn't that going a bit too far?" at those words the blonde couldn't help but smile widely and cheerfully even though both of her friends could feel the evil behind her girlish face.

Mimi: "Rin-chan I really don't know if that is such a good idea. I mean, sensei and Reiji-san will get very mad at you once they'll find out that it was just a prank!" her friend sounded very concerned (just like always) unsure if she should support her dear friend after hearing of her plan.

Rin: "Kini shinai, kini shinai! Everything's going to be fine!" that evil smirk plastered on her face just wouldn't leave her. Kuro, after thinking it over for a second began to grow her own sinister leer as the plan began to sink in.

Kuro: "Well….I kinda like the idea of it. And as long as it's only for a couple of days then I don't think it will be that bad. Besides, it won't harm anyone will it?" she had to agree that she liked the idea. Not only will it force that damn virgin on his knees in tears but it will also be just fun to do something new for a change. Besides, if they will do it right they may be able to get to skip school without consequences for a couple of days. That's obviously a huge bonus! "I'm in!" and with that she moved her arm over Rin's as a symbol that she will help her after all with this idea. Afterwards, both girls turned their heads towards the last remaining female in that group.

Rin: "Mimi-chan, are you in as well?" this didn't seem like a good idea at all. Mimi just stared at them not really sure if she was supposed to accept or not. She was really scared and she knew that if this plan will go well then they would hurt their teacher's feelings (not to mention probably scar Reiji as well).

Mimi: "Well…..I…" she was trembling.

Rin: "Don't worry about it! I'll obviously take all the blame afterwards and I won't mention any of your names. It's gonna be ok!" she tried to reassure her although that wasn't the reason the glass wearer was so hesitant about it.

Mimi: "That's…not the reason why I don't like the idea!" she stammered not really sure how to phrase her concerns. "It's just that….." she stopped feeling her legs beginning to wobble. However, as she was about to have a panic attack she felt an arm over her shoulder and when she looked up she saw her friend flashing that brilliant smile at her once again.

Rin: "You shouldn't be afraid. Whatever will come up I'll deal with it! I just need to do this to see if sensei still likes me or not!" that statement was enough to crumble through her friend's doubts a little.

Mimi: "But-….." she tried a last attempt at resistance but was interrupted.

Rin: "Please!" she said cutting off Mimi and giving her a serious face, almost like this was a life threatening problem. "Onegai…I need to do this…..I really do!" at those words Mimi realized that this was one of those moments when she was needed by her friends. Indeed the idea seemed awful and everything but she had to admit that she couldn't just ignore Rin's request after she pleaded to her like that.

With a reluctant face she approached the rest of the group and slowly and cautiously she hovered her hand over theirs as well.

Rin: "Arigato mina. I really appreciate your support!" now that her friends were on her side she could begin her plan. Indeed this was very risky and she knew very well that this will most likely get her grounded for half a year once everything will be done but if it was for her to get even a single kiss from that man…then it will be worth it.

~Classroom~

Rin: "Ok, so both of you know what to do?" she asked her friends as they both nodded their heads with varying levels of enthusiasm. "Perfect! Now, this is the package!" she said while handing Kuro the envelope. "Remember, be quick about it! If you'll get caught you'll get in trouble as well!" at that both girls in front of her nodded once again before heading to their desks. "_Good, everything is set in place!_"

And just in time at that as Aoki suddenly entered the classroom with not such a happy face on him.

Rin: "_Now all that's left is to implement my idea…._" she said as she kept looking at her teacher who was walking towards her.

Aoki: "Ohaio…mina. Let's work hard today as well!" he said encouragingly not aware of the reason why Kokonoe was looking so seriously at him. "Kokonoe, you should go back to your seat! Class is about to start!" he tried to get her out of the way though the girl did not obey and only stared at him contemplating a little as she realized that moment the many flaws and risks in her scheme.

Rin: "_Huh….maybe Mimi-chan was right. Maybe I should think about this before doing it. After all I don't want to get into trouble for no reason! _Ne, sensei, are you free after school?" she asked all of a sudden as Aoki stopped dead in his tracks taken aback by that question.

Aoki: "Huh? No, why?" he asked a little confused.

Rin: "Do you want to take me out somewhere? It's been a while since we've gone on a date together!" at that his eyebrows furrowed.

Aoki: "Kokonoe…I already told you that what happened last time wasn't a date…..and no, I don't want to take you out. If you want to I can walk you home or keep you company but don't expect me to do something as reckless as that. I already told you that I won't be dating any of my students any time soon!" he concluded boldly with an adamant look on his face.

Rin: "But…..but….." she tried to think of something to say but he immediately cut her off.

Aoki: "And that is final! My decision is made. No more buts! Now go back to your seat already! I need to start class!" it really hurt Aoki to be this strict with her but he really wanted not to attract unwanted attention anymore from her stunts with him. He was already fed up with them. He needed to finally act like a teacher and take action and authority over his students. That's what Sae had said would be good and he agreed to it.

Rin: "_Fine. I tried to give you a chance to redeem yourself but you didn't take it. I'm sorry, sensei….you leave me no other choice!_" and with that the girl obeyed his order and headed towards her seat pretending that she would listen this time.

Aoki: "_Huh. She's finally listening to me! Shirai-sensei was right! Enforcing your way is always the best solution. Sometimes the simplest ways are also the most effective!_" but as he thought that the girl in front of him began coughing violently, almost like she was drowning. "Eh? Oi, Kokonoe!" he said running towards her and putting his hand on her shoulder in a supportive way while trying to look at her face. "Oi, daijoubu?" but as soon as the girl felt his hand on her she immediately repressed some coughs and walked away quickly out of his grasp.

Rin: "I'm fine!" she said quickly in a rushed way not even bothering to look at him. That worried the teacher even more.

Little did he know though what was waiting him though.

~Later that day, classroom~

It had been 2 hours since Aoki had entered the classroom and he didn't seem to be suspecting anything, nor was anyone else apparently.

She had been waiting up until now so that it wouldn't be too suspicious her breaking at the very start of the school day. However, now seemed to have been enough time. It was also the middle of the class so no one should suspect anything at all.

Rin: "_I'm sorry to do this to you, sensei. I wish there was another way…._" and with just that she began to cough again violently. She had been coughing from time to time during the classes that day intentionally to make it seem natural but this time she went all out and began to shake as well, almost like she was struggling. Her teacher tried his best to ignore her but when he saw her holding her chest like that he could not help but worry at her condition.

Aoki: "Kokonoe, you should seriously go to the nurse's office! You look horrible!" but the girl didn't stop the coughs. She kept on shaking in motions which attracted everyone's attention. Aoki felt necessary to move to her and grab her to stop her from shaking. "Kokonoe! Kokonoe! What's wrong?" he really started to get worried. This didn't seem like a common cold or anything of the sorts. But as soon as he thought that the girl calmed down in his hands.

Rin: "I can't….breathe…._(cough cough)_" she said so lowly it felt almost like a whisper. Her seemingly pained voice was disturbing. However, that didn't last too long as her shaking intensified and her coughs increased even further until, after another couple of seconds, she became motionless completely. When the teacher witnessed her going numb all of a sudden and closing her eyes like that the whole class went silent.

Aoki: "Kokonoe? KOKONOE? KOKONOE!" he began to scream in her ear. This felt bad. This felt seriously bad. "Quick, someone! Call the ambulance!" he yelled as a random student in the room pulled out his cellphone and dialed the emergency number. Everyone adopted a scared face as all kids tried their best not to lose it right then and there. Everyone except Rin's 2 friends, of course.

Kuro: "_Wow…she really is a good actress….._" the girl thought as she sweat dropped at that impeccable performance. She never knew her best friend was so good at playing dead.

Mimi: "_Rin-chan. I hope you know what you're doing!_"

~Hospital room~

The girl was lying in bed coughing violently as her guardian continued to stare at her with worried eyes almost like the young girl was ready to die any second.

Reiji: "Rin, hang in there! The doctor will help you get back on your feet! Don't worry!" the young man was tightly holding her hand in such a way it almost felt like he was trying to break the bones. The girl did not resist though as she continued her violent reactions which only scared the man even more.

Rin: "Don't worry…..Reiji. I'm fine….._(cough cough)_" she tried to be brave as the man refused to let go of her.

There were only 3 people in that room: her, Reiji and the doctor who was waiting for the nurse to come and bring him the pills he had asked for. Aoki, who had brought the girl there, obviously had to leave since he couldn't skip work just because of one sick student or he would get fired. And that was fortunate since the man had no desire to meet with the girl's guardian any time soon (or vice versa).

Luckily for them the door soon flung open as a rushed nurse came into the room and handed the doctor the medicine he had been waiting for this whole time. Wasting no more time the man took the box and opened it to extract a small round white pill. He handed the pill to the young girl before giving her a glass of water as well.

Doctor: "Take these. They should solve the problem with the coughs temporarily!" he said in a professional way. Rin listened to him and took the pill without thinking twice. After gulping that object and calming down for a second the medicine seemed to have taken effect almost immediately.

Rin: "Arigato!" she thanked him warmly as the man then grabbed a nearby chair and sat on it right next to the girl's bed while also pulling out a pencil from his coat preparing to write something down.

Doctor: "Now, miss Kokonoe. After going through your PHR I see that you have mostly had a healthy history since birth. There seem to be no noticeable cases where your condition had been life threatening or even bad. Nothing seems out of the ordinary here!" the old man explained as Reiji decided to intervene.

Reiji: "Yes, that is mostly because she had only minor illnesses up until now and most of the times I had kept her home and allowed her to recover by herself. However, this is the first time she has ever been in such a bad state!" it was very clear only from the look on his face that Reiji was extremely worried for this girl. His expression was giving away his nervousness and anxiety.

Doctor: "I see. Well, leaving that aside, we should move on to the problem at hand in that case" he said realizing that this young man next to the girl may even break in tears soon if they would linger around the subject too much. "Now, miss Rin. Can you describe what exactly the problem is? What do you feel right now?"

Rin: "My chest hurts!" she said in a low voice once again trying to make herself sound in pain.

Doctor: "Your chest? May I ask where, exactly?" he tried to get as much information as he could about the subject which made the young girl uncomfortable.

Rin: "My lungs. They're burning!" she tried to reduce almost all of her phrases to simple 2 or 3 word sentences so that it would make the adults think that she was having difficulty talking. Her low and intentionally forced voice coupled with the occasional coughs seemed to be making a pretty credible performance, her managing to fool even this doctor.

Doctor: "_(rising an eyebrow)_ Your lungs? You mean you can't breathe or are you saying that you can actually feel your lungs burning?" he asked while his voice began to pick up volume in a sign of concern. "There is a difference! If you cannot breathe then it might as well be from your respiratory airways becoming inflamed or blocked by mucus whereas the feeling of burning lungs can me-…"

Rin: "No! My lungs are burning!" she repeated her previous sentence trying to cut this conversation short since she did not know how long she can fool this man. However, the man's concerned look assured her that everything was going well.

Doctor: "I….see. Ahem, well then. Let's move on! How are the coughs? Are they dry coughs meaning that you just cough because you feel you need to but nothing comes out or are they wet coughs that you execute in order to spit fluid out of your body?" that was a tough question. She had no idea what to answer to that one so that it would make it look serious.

Rin looked ahead a little averting her eyes from the doctor's so that she could think for a second on what to answer. While pretending like she was trying to assess her own coughs she thought about a response which would make her condition seem very dire and serious.

Since she didn't have an eventful medical history and her knowledge in biology was as big as a farmer's knowledge regarding space shuttle design she decided use the most gruesome response she could come up with at the moment and simply go with that in hopes that everything would work itself out.

Rin: "Well, yesterday I coughed up blood. Is that bad?" at those words both the doctor's and Reiji's faces went completely white almost like she had revealed to them that she had AIDS. "_Looks like I nailed it!_" suddenly Reiji felt like he was at the verge of crying that exact moment. He was too scared now to care about the doctor or anything else by this point.

Reiji: "You did what?! Why didn't you tell me last night about it!? I wouldn't have sent you to school today in the first place!" the young man looked pained by that confession. He was doing his best to maintain his calm right then but was failing miserably.

The doctor on the other hand was managing to pretend that he was calm simply because he did not want to make the other people in that room panic or anything. Still, judging from his medical knowledge, he knew very well that these symptoms should never be treated lightly and that this was serious business.

Doctor: "I understand. And, I know that this may sound like a silly question and everything but please answer honestly anyway. Are you a smoker?" at those words, after all that tension they were going through and after learning of such a disturbing thing from the child in his care, Reiji broke. That question was so absurd and so ridiculous considering the fact that it was directed at a 10 year old girl that the young man thought that the doctor was just making fun of them.

Reiji: "DON'T SCREW WITH US!" being in his anxious and almost panicked state the man lost control of his words and had a moment where he seemed ready to punch the doctor in the face for having the courage to even make such a proposal.

Doctor: "I know this might seem like a very improbable thing but as a doctor I need to know everything I can about this patient! So please, just, answer quietly!" that did not make Reiji feel any better. Actually, only judging from his face you could have sworn that the man was ready to attack the doctor and beat him to a pulp. That is, until Rei put her other hand on his as well gaining his attention.

Rin: "_(with a concerned look)_ Reiji, please calm down!" she asked sweetly forcing her guardian to regain some of his sanity back and retain some composure once again.

Reiji: "Uh, sorry about that. I didn't want to lose it like that. It's just that I am really troubled because of your health, Rin…." he staggered in an attempt to collect his words and form proper sentences. "_(looking back at the doctor) _No, I'm pretty sure Rin doesn't smoke. And since I'm the only other person in her household and I never smoked my entire life either I feel like it's safe to say that she never came in contact with cigarette smoke at all!" he concluded already feeling the need to get out of that room and take in some fresh air. Reiji was already feeling nauseous just from being in that conversation.

Doctor: "I see. Well then I think we should conclude our questions for today since I'm seeing that both of you seem…ahem….tired" he said although the word "tired" wasn't used that accurately with respect to Reiji. "In any case, nurse!" he called out to the young woman who had been standing near the wall this whole time only listening in on their conversation.

Nurse: "Hai?"

Doctor: "Please schedule Miss Kokonoe here for a CXR examination and make it as early as possible" he ordered as the young woman bowed her head quickly before leaving the room. "Do not worry! These symptoms are pretty common! Until the examination says otherwise there is no need to be concerned!" he tried to be as calm as possible and keep both the patient and her guardian in the levels of their sanity and not provoke a panic attack from either of them.

True, the symptoms seemed pretty dire and extremely worrying but as long as no concrete evidence is brought up to show a real reason to panic, then he would do his best not to alarm anyone. As a doctor such an attitude was vital for everyday confrontations with patients.

Rin: "Doctor?"

Doctor: "Yes, Rin-chan?"

Rin: "Can I ask what a CXR means?" she asked with a worried look on her face, pretending like she as scared.

Doctor: "Ah that. No need to worry about it! It stands for 'chest X-ray'. That means that while you will be lying on a table relaxing this machine will just take a quick peek inside you and tell me if there is anything wrong going on inside your body! And in this time you won't feel a thing so there's nothing to be scared of!" that extremely unprofessional and almost ridiculous explanation was not needed but it did confirm Kokonoe's suspicions. So, it was exactly like the way the doctors had treated her mother before. This was good. This meant that her plan was going perfectly well now and she, a 10 year old girl, had managed to fool a grown up doctor.

Rin: "_Reiji, I'm sorry for having to drag you into this as well. I really don't want to hurt you like this but there was no way around it!_" she felt really guilty for seeing Reiji this worried about her but she didn't have that much of a choice. Still, she was pretty sure that the man will pay her back tenfold once he'll find out that all of this was a play. And the thought of that made her skin shiver.

~X-ray room~

She couldn't feel a single thing. While waiting on that table and pretending that everything was fine she couldn't really sense anything going on. Still, she knew that while she was thinking that the machine right next to her was collecting information about her lungs and body in general.

Up until now she expected x-rays to be a lot cooler and flashier than this but then again she must have been watching too many animes.

Rin: "_Weird how they can probably see everything inside me with just this but I can't even tell if this machine is on or not….._" medicine was truly a complicated subject.

Soon after the nurse came up to her and spoke.

Nurse: "Kokonoe-chan, you may get up now! The examination is over! You may go back to your room for the moment!" she exclaimed in an obviously fake cheering voice. The girl only stared at her for a couple of seconds thinking about something before responding.

Rin: "About that….when will the results be shown?" she intentionally inquired leaving the woman next to her speechless.

Nurse: "Uh, excuse me?" she asked a little uneasy.

Rin: "When will the x-ray image thingy be examined by the doctor?" that was unexpected. This was the first time in the nurse's career when she met a child being concerned about such a thing.

Nurse: "Well, the more experienced doctors are preparing to study it right now. However, it will take a couple of hours until it will get to the doctor who's supposed to take care of you" she tried to explain not really caring of the reason why this kid would even want to know about such a thing. "Don't worry, though! I'll be sure to deliver it to him safely!" this woman had no idea what she was currently doing by explaining Rin all these things.

Rin: "Ah, so you will be the one who will give it to him?"

Nurse: "Hai. I organize all the documents regarding your doctor's patients while he is gone doing his work. So in a way I'll take care of everything!" so this meant that this nurse will deliver that sheet to the doctor. Perfect!

Rin: "Ah, arigato! That's all I wanted to know!" and with that she hopped off that table she was sitting on and exited the room.

Outside she met once again with that man.

Rei: "Reiji!" she yelled running forward to him and then hugging him tightly. However, as soon as Reiji squeezed her back she began to cough once again.

Reiji: "Oi, Rin, stop running like that! There's no need for you to push yourself this much!" but despite his protests the young lady in his hands decided to ignore them and change the topic.

Rin: "Haihai. Uh…..Reiji….would you mind lending me your phone for a sec?" that took the young lad by surprise.

Reiji: "Huh? My phone? What for?" that was surely an unexpected request.

Rin: "I won't be going to school any time soon, will I? I should at least tell my friends where I am! They might get worried because of me!" he had to admit that he had not thought of that. It was true, especially considering the fact that she had fainted in the middle of class. In those circumstances her colleagues would most likely be worried sick about her. Not to mention her teacher.

Reiji immediately frowned when his mind went to look for that man who he hated the most. He really couldn't care less if that pedophile would be worried about Rin or not. Then again, that was irrelevant now.

Reiji: "Sure, here you go!" he handed her his phone as the girl eagerly picked it up. But immediately after getting her hands on that phone she began to run away with it. "Huh, Rin! Don't run like that! You're sick, remember?" he shouted after her although she didn't seem to pay him any attention. "Man, she's such a figure" he said out loud to himself while putting his hand over one eye in annoyance.

He could have run after her as well but then again he knew from experience that chasing after that girl always leads to disasters. He was wise enough not to do that and just leave her alone.

~Hallway~

She looked one last time around the corner to make sure Reiji wasn't after her. He didn't seem to have followed her at all (though she wasn't surprised at all). After confirming one last time that she hadn't been followed she opened up the phone and dialed the number of one of her friends.

Rin: "Hello? Mimi-chan?" she asked when she heard the other end of the line responding. "Hello, it's me, Rin. I'm calling from another phone! Anyway, everything is set in place! No one is suspecting anything! And I know where the envelope should be!"…

~3 hours later, random room~

Nurse: "Man, this sucks. I should really stop doing that doctor's organizing!" she moaned in annoyance as she sorted all the papers on the desk. Truthfully this wasn't her job but rather that doctor's and she should be in break right now. However, since the doctor always asks for her help regarding his organizing most of the times she ends up doing all this boring stuff even during her supposed-to-be free time.

Nurse: "_(sigh)_ If that man won't take me out one of these days for this, I swear I'm gonna make him the patient!" she continued to go through all those boring documents. This was so tedious that she felt only the pleasure that a coffeemaker could offer would make her happy right now.

Sheet of paper after sheet of paper the woman continued to run through all those documents in pure unwillingness. That is, until she heard a scream.

Nurse: "Huh? Who is there?" she asked rising from her chair a little scared. Then, suddenly, right at the entrance of the room through the opened door a small child appeared out of nowhere.

Mimi: "Miss! Miss!" she came in screaming like she was about to have a heart attack.

Nurse: "Huh? What is it child?!" she ran up to Mimi not really understanding what's going on. But as soon as she did that Mimi grabbed her hand all of a sudden and began to pull her away from the room.

Mimi: "Hurry please! My grandma wasn't feeling well and fainted. There was no doctor around so I didn't know what to do! You need to get to her room right now!" at those words the nurse immediately changed into a serious mood and began to run alongside Mimi.

Nurse: "Huh? A patient is feeling bad?"

She didn't care right now that she was on break at the moment or that she had left all those documents unlocked in that room. The life of a patient takes precedence over anything else! At least, that's what her training had always told her. Soon afterwards the hallway became quiet.

As the corridor went silent and there was no sign of anyone else being around a dark figure emerged from the shadows with a sinister grin on her face and holding an envelope under her arm. This was her chance! Mimi had opened up an opportunity and how she had to take it!

With a sneaking talent which could make even a cat envious the small figure walked carefully inside the room where the nurse had been working in. Once she saw all that pile of papers stacked on the desk she knew she must have been in the right place.

After getting a chair to stand on and reach the height of that desk Kuro looked around for an envelope. And soon enough she came across one.

She immediately grabbed it and without any second thought looked at the back of it to see what was written on it.

Writing on back of envelope: "Rin Kokonoe – chest radiograph -02.04.2008". This was seemingly perfect! At that moment Kuro had no doubts anymore as she pushed her hand to extract the contents of the envelope from under her arm and then the contents of the envelope which had been lying on the desk there. She swapped the 2 very quickly and then closed the envelope which was supposed to be on the desk alongside the stacks of paper and placed it in such a way that it seemed that it hadn't been touched or moved at all.

Kuro: "_Rin-chan, you owe me big time for this one!_" she grinned almost like she had accomplished an infiltration military mission and made her own country proud. After standing in that room just another couple of seconds she made herself unnoticed and quickly ran away, so that she would not be detected by anyone.

~A couple of minutes later~

The nurse came back to the office once again with an annoyed face.

Nurse: "Man…young girls these days. Seriously, that was the worst prank ever! Leading me to a random room in the hospital and then running away when my back is turned…have little girls no more shame today?" she was seriously ready to punch someone just because of what she had to go through.

She couldn't believe that she had allowed herself to be fooled by such a kid. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to drill a hole through the wall with her own fist.

Nurse: "Uh, goddamn youngsters…." but as soon as she sat down on the chair she took a look around her desk only to find everything like she had left it. "_(sigh) _And I really don't want to finish all this…..ah man, that damn doctor should give me half of his salary for this!"

~Doctor's office~

Nurse: "Doctor?" the woman asked as she slowly cracked open the door to his office.

Doctor: "You should learn how to knock on the door before opening it, Katsura-san. This isn't a romantic comedy which most kids watch on TV these days!" he said not lifting his eyes off his papers.

Nurse: "Ah, gomennasai. I was just in a hurry and-…." but she was quickly cut off.

Doctor: "No need to apologize. No damage was done although I would appreciate it if you would take that into account next time you want to enter. Oh, and by the way….thank you!" a smile appeared suddenly on his face as he announced that which took the young nurse by surprise.

Nurse: "Huh….fo-…for what?" she didn't know how to react to that.

Doctor: "For helping me out with the papers! You have always been of much help to me and I want to thank you!"

Nurse: "_(glaring but trying to hide it) You're just thanking me? No reward? No nothing for all the hard work I've been doing for you all these years, you little bastard? _Ah, with pleasure, sensei!" she tried to be as polite as possible.

Doctor: "How about we go out Saturday just to make up for it. My treat, of course!"

Nurse: "_YES. FINALLY!_ Ah, arigato. I can't wait!" she said blushing quietly as the doctor sat up and began walking to her.

Doctor: "Now, what's left to do for today?" he asked her regaining his professional attitude.

Nurse: "Ah, right…." she snapped out of her distractions. "Well, apparently you have to check this patient's chest x-ray once again as protocol dictates!" at that the doctor's face darkened yet again.

Doctor: "Ah, that. Why do I have to do that a second time as well? I already looked over it the first time and it didn't show absolutely anything! Why do I have to do it again?" he always hated these meaningless protocols this hospital had installed. What was the point in double-checking x-ray visuals? He was a doctor after all! If there was something wrong shown in the visualization he should have noticed it the first time he looked over it! There was no need for a second check.

Nurse: "Sensei, that's what the protocol dictates. I didn't write it!" and with that she placed the plastic sheet on a lighting panel on the wall and flipped on the switch so that the background light would make the details imprinted on that sheet a lot easier to see.

The old man sighed annoyed by her attitude but decided to look over it anyways. As he approached the panel to check for a second time the images on that sheet his eyes almost immediately focused on a single part of the picture. And then his mouth opened suddenly.

Doctor: "My Lord…" he couldn't believe his eyes. This….was disturbing.

This was the very first time in his whole life when he saw anything like that.

Nurse: "_(surprised by his reaction)_ Huh, what is it, sensei?" she asked a little worried.

Doctor: "I can't believe this…..how come I didn't see this the first time?" this didn't seem right. He should definitely have seen this when he had first checked that. It was just too big to miss. "Nurse…are you sure this is the right paper? You haven't mistaken it for someone else's, have you?"

Nurse: "Huh? What are you talking about? There was no other patient who was scheduled for a CXR today. I couldn't have mistaken it with anyone else's since there was no one else at all!" she explained as the doctor forced his eyes to read the text imprinted on the corner of that sheet which was supposed to say the name of the patient that x-ray was made to.

Doctor: "_Kokonoe….._" he strained his eyes to read the name written on the corner of that sheet but to no avail. "_Why is this name so hard to read? It should be perfectly comprehensible!_" but that was the least of his concerns.

The first name written there was legible and it clearly said 'Kokonoe'. This had to be that girl he had met that evening.

Doctor: "But…..this is just…..wrong…." when he looked at the image he could feel his heart leaving his body. That image…was like the grim reaper's personal signature.

Nurse: "What is it, sensei? Is something wrong?" oblivious to the man's concerns the nurse decided to butt in.

Doctor: "That's…..a tumor…." he said while still staring at that image almost like he was just having a nightmare.

Nurse: "Huh? How is that possible?! Why didn't you notice that the first time?!" he had no idea. Nor did he care now. "_(concerned)_ How bad is it?"

Doctor: "…it's….huge…..probably in its final stage…" the medic felt sick, almost like he was seeing a gruesome scene of war. He should be used to this but this was the first time he had ever seen a tumor this big.

This was bad. How could a 10 year old girl develop such a serious condition? And what was even stranger was that the girl had looked perfectly normal when he had seen her that evening. Sure she had been coughing violently but that shouldn't have been enough for something as horrific as this. And, even more intriguing, such a condition could only develop after a couple of months of serious weakness which shouldn't have allowed the girl to even walk normally. And that girl didn't seem to have been that sick the last time he had seen her.

Moreover, with such a gigantic tumor in the chest, the girl couldn't have possibly lasted up until now without proper medication.

In the end, it all boiled down to one question: how the fuck was this discovered as late as now? And how in the bloody hell did the girl last up until now without any medical help?

Doctor: "_Uh, why the hell am I even thinking this?! This should be the least of my concerns!_" he decided to ignore all of the previous questions and just take in reality as it was. Whatever had happened until then did not matter anymore. What mattered was for him to save this girl now!

Doctor: "_Then again…no matter how much I'll try…with such a big tumor…..the cancer must have spread throughout the whole body…I don't think it's possible anymore….._" no, if what the image in front of him was telling him was the truth then it was already too late.

That was crystal clear now. Actually…if he was right the girl would die very soon even.

Nurse: "Doctor…" his partner looked worried when she saw the depressed face he had on. Although she had known this man for a couple of years now this was the first time she had ever seen him like that. This was worrying. "Is it really that bad?" he nodded.

Doctor: "This will be the first time I'll lose a child. I hoped to get through this job without ever having to experience that. I can't believe it!" his attitude was just dark and it looked like all that immature joy he had always been holding inside him every day had disappeared all of a sudden.

Nurse: "….but….." she didn't know what was the proper reaction to those words. She was sad…especially after remembering the face of that little girl. She had looked so happy and childish and…innocent. For this child to die so young and for them to be incapable of doing anything to prevent it…..where was the justice in this world? "How…long…..will she live?" she asked barely able to pronounce each word.

Doctor: "2 weeks….max"


	3. Adults are so gullible

**Chapter 3**

**Adults are so gullible**

~Hospital corridor~

Reiji: "WHAT!?" that voice was loud enough to severe a pretty big part of the doctor's hearing. The old man simply closed his right eye in annoyance before putting a finger in one of his ears to cushion the loud eerie ringing still present in them almost as if he had been exposed to loud gunfire.

Doctor: "I don't think it's necessary for you to wake up the other patients as well…." the doctor remarked while trying to keep his own calm in this situation.

Reiji: "I…..I'm sorry…but…." the man stood there motionless. He had no idea what to do or what to say.

The doctor had explained to him a couple of minutes ago what he had found in Rin's chest radiograph and the results of his diagnostic were nowhere close to what he had been expecting.

Reiji: "Please, doctor! This has to be a mistake! Just tell me that all of this is just a joke and that everything is actually normal! Please!" by this point the girl's guardian didn't care anymore about dignity or pride. He was willing to fall on the ground and simply beg the doctor just for him to change his words. However, the older man knew that he could not lie about such a serious situation.

Doctor: "Believe me, I wish I could. This is the first time in my career I have experienced such a thing with a child so this is as bad for me as it is for you!" despite those words Reiji didn't stop panicking.

Then again, he knew he couldn't after this point. The only thing he knew was that Rin must not die. Whatever it was he just knew that she must not die no matter what. He had sworn to Aki that he would protect her daughter!

Reiji: "But…..but….there must be something you can do, right? RIGHT!?" his face was that of a madman. The doctor quickly realized just from his expression that Reiji was in serious pain right now, almost like he was the father of the child or something.

Doctor: "I will try my best to save her. However, judging from the size of the tumor I'm pretty sure it's already too late to even give her medication. I don't want to sound pessimistic or anything sir but….." he said putting his hand over Reiji's shoulder in a comforting way "….I'm afraid only a miracle can save her now…"

Reiji: "_No….NOO!_" he was reminded. He was reminded of those memories. At those words Reiji put both of his hands over his head almost like trying to stop his brain from unlocking those traumatic memories. "_NONONONO!_"

Shaking his head so hard the young male was squeezing his eyes as images of Aki on the hospital bed reappeared in his head.

Reiji: "_This can't be happening! This has to be a joke! JUST A CRUEL FUCKING JOKE!_" he could feel the tears warning to erupt any second then. He thought that squeezing his eyes would keep them at bay but apparently it was not so as the water began rolling down his cheeks.

It was painful to see a full grown man crying like that in front of him but the doctor had no idea what to say to stop Reiji from shedding any more tears.

Doctor: "I'm sorry! I wish I could do something…" but that phrase only deepened the lad's sobbing and aggravated the situation.

Reiji couldn't stand his life anymore. Ever since he had been a kid he had been in deep and serious hurt. His parents had never loved him, his childhood had been a complete mess and most importantly he had to run away from them. Such a thing was simply cruel for him. Then, when he had been older, fate had seemed to become merciful to him and had brought him happiness and joy for a second. That was when he had met Aki…a woman who had seemed to be perfect.

Gentle…beautiful…generous….and most importantly…loving. She had been the embodiment of femininity and she had proven herself to be the only thing which had brought him a meaning in his life. He had enjoyed his time with her….every single day actually. There was no second when he had been with her which he had regretted. That was….until he had discovered that fate had not brought him happiness. Fate had just been playing with him that whole time and had given him happiness just so it could snatch it back and laugh at his expense.

That was how Aki had been forcefully seized from his arms and taken to another world…leaving him behind in pure despair. That was how he had realized how cruel reality can be. And the only thing which Aki left behind for him….was Rin.

Rin was the only remnant he had from his last love and although she wasn't his child he cared for her more than anything simply because she was proof that he had once been happy in his life. But now….fate decided to toy with him yet again and take even that now.

How could this happen? Why is this possible? Why did Kami hate him so much? Had he done something wrong in a previous life? Had he been a serial killer and pedophilic rapist to deserve such a punishment in this life?

Reiji: "_(calming down)_ This is not fair…" he whispered while trying to regain control over his body. His tears were painful to shed and when he looked at the concerned look this medic was throwing him he knew that he should stop now.

Reiji: "Please excuse me. I had a hard life….mostly because I had lost someone important to me a few years ago as well…she was the girl's mother….." he explained in a serious voice raising the doctor's eyebrow.

Doctor: "Her mother you say? Did she die of lung cancer as well?" the medic asked as an idea popped up in his head.

Reiji: "_(curious)_ Huh? Yes. Why?" something seemed to have shifted in the air once he had responded to that question. It was like the doctor suddenly realized something as his face changed completely and a smile appeared on him.

Doctor: "I see. So that's how it is…." and just with that the older man began to rub his chin with his fingers and stare at the ceiling while thinking about it. Reiji couldn't help but stare in pure bewilderment at him.

Reiji: "W-…..what do you mean? Is something wrong?"

Doctor: "I believe I have figured out why Rin has cancer at such a young age!" that certainly attracted the man's curiosity.

Reiji: "You do? Tell me, then! Why?" his impatience was getting the better of him when the doctor moved his head to look at him almost as if he had discovered a new continent on this planet.

Doctor: "IT MUST BE GENETIC!" he yelled in excessive confidence and pride with his discovery. Reiji just looked at him not really sure what he was supposed to make of that.

Reiji: "Uh….what?"

Doctor: "It all makes sense now! The lung cancer must have been something which she was predisposed to ever since birth! You see, in some rare cases cancer develops in the body of the patient simply because his organism being susceptible to that specific type of cancer. That is, a parent who is prone to that disease just because of her body can transmit that susceptibility towards that particular disease through her genetic code to her children! If a nonsmoking woman dies of lung cancer, for example, then the cause is most likely genetic. And that also gives her children the chance of developing that same condition themselves later in their lives just because the child possesses 50% of their mother's DNA!" as the doctor kept on rambling about medical mumbo-jumbo which Reiji didn't give 2 shits about, the man decided that this made no more sense anymore and that he should close the conversation before it got any weirder than this.

Reiji: "I appreciate your explanations doctor but I don't want to talk about this…." he said with a depressed look on his face.

Doctor: "_(snapping back to normal)_ Ah, of course. Pardon me" he said a little ashamed by what he had been doing.

Reiji: "In any case…..can I just go and see her?" that sudden question let the doctor know that the young man desired to end this discussion as soon as possible.

Doctor: "Yes, of course. However, may I ask if you want me to start giving her anti-cancer medication? By this point I feel like it would only burden the girl since I very much doubt it will bring her any good….."

At that Reiji just closed his eyes in annoyance and remembered Aki's situation when she had been in hospital. He knew very well the medication had stopped helping her condition during her last weeks of her life. Worse, it had seemed to have begun provoking side effects and even worsening her condition. He did not desire such a thing to happen to Rin as well.

Reiji: "No! If she will die at least leave her to die in peace!" and with that he headed towards Rin's room.

~Rin's new room~

For some reason she had been moved from her old hospital room which she had been forced to share with other patients to a new chamber which was dedicated only for her. This new room was spacious considering the fact that it had only 1 bed (her bed), more advanced medical equipment and was just downright more suited for comfort. However, what was weird was that the rooms on this new floor were all 1 patient only chambers and they seemed a lot better and more carefully managed and maintained than those crowded rooms on the other floors of the hospital.

Also, the windows didn't seem to open more than 15 cm on this floor. She didn't even want to know the reason for that design choice.

Rin: "_This must mean that they think I'm going to die soon…._" she was surprised at how easily she had fooled these adults. She had imagined that the doctor would have seen through her act almost right away and blow her cover to Reiji instantly.

That was not the case. And what worried her the most was that this doctor was said to be one of the best this hospital had to offer. For such an experienced man to be this easily fooled by a young girl like herself…she pitied the medical system in her country.

As she thought that the door to this new room opened and when she looked to see who it was she could feel a smile making its way to her mouth.

Rin: "Ohaio, Reiji!" that smile of hers….when Reiji saw that he felt like his heart skipped a beat. She was so pure…so innocent…..he felt the need to puke when thinking of her death.

Reiji: "Ohaio, Rin-chan! I brought you some fruits to help you!" he said nicely while doing his best not to burst into tears in front of this young girl. As her guardian he had to not show himself distressed in front of her. It was his duty to explain to her the situation without making her sad…..or in this case depressed.

Rin: "Ah, arigato. I really needed something different from the usual ecchi food they serve here!" and by saying that she snatched the bag from his hands and began to search through it.

There was nothing too unusual in there: just the regular apples, strawberries, bananas and oranges.

After she began peeling the oranges to enjoy their taste she soon realized that Reiji was silent. He had been silent almost all the time after handing her the bag which scared her. He wasn't usually this quiet. And that was when she realized what was happening.

Rin: "Reiji. Can I ask you something?"

Reiji: "Mm. Ask anything you want!"

Rin: "What did the doctor say? About…my condition?" that was it. When looking into her sad eyes, into those girly and harmless eyes, he felt like he couldn't lie.

He had to tell the truth. After all, she wasn't going to last much longer. He couldn't just say that she was fine, could he?

Reiji: "Well…you're…uh…show should I put this?...You're…" she coughed another couple of times which only made his face grimace. "…..you're….."

Rin: "_(with a sad smile on her) _Am I going to die…like ka-san?" that was all the man could take. He snapped. He knew he shouldn't have. He knew he should have been more subtle about it (or at least even a LITTLE SUBTLE) but he just couldn't stand to look at her anymore.

Reiji: "I WON'T EVER LET THAT HAPPEN. THAT DOCTOR WAS LYING. HE MUST BE LYING! I WON'T ALLOW SUCH A THING TO HAPPEN TO YOU, RIN. I'll go to another doctor and make him recheck your lungs, I'll donate you anything you may need and if there is any doctor somewhere in the world who can cure you then I swear I will find him!" he said while hugging her all of a sudden and tightening his embrace as much as he could. He was so close to her he could feel her heartbeats. And that was all he could take. Tears began to flow down his face.

At these signs Rin realized that moment what she had done. This was just a prank to fool her teacher to make him confess to her. It was only to force his hand and make him realize his feelings for her. But…by seeing Reiji this hurt just because of this she finally understood the gravity of what she had done.

And now she regretted it. She regretted ever coming up with this stupid idea. She wanted to see sensei confess to her but if the cost was her guardian suffering this much…she began doubting her decisions.

Rin: "_What have I done? I'm sorry Reiji! I'm such a monster!_" seeing his suffering just because of her own actions was too much. She burst into tears as well alongside him.

Rin: "_(sob)_Reiji…..Reiji…." she hated herself at this point. No, she despised the day when she came up with this atrocious idea.

However…..what could she do now? She was already halfway through her plan! She couldn't just tell him that all of this was just acting and then ruin everything when she was so close to the ending. If she did that then everything her and her friends had worked on up until then would just go down the drain; not to mention it would make all the suffering which Reiji was going through right now meaningless. If she made him suffer then at least make him suffer for a reason and finish what she had started! And hope that in the end, she will get what she was hoping for….

~1 week later, school, classroom~

Aoki: "Ok, mina! Thanks for all your hard work and I hope you will enjoy the weekend as much as you can! I wish you farewell and I hope to see you all Monday! Goodbye!" the teacher wished them as everyone began packing their bags. Everyone except one student though.

Student: "Uh….sensei….can I ask you 1 question?" one boy timidly inquired with a worried look on his face. That particular boy seemed to have been distressed all day and that had been bugging Aoki.

Aoki: "Yes? What is it?"

Student: "Uh…..well. It's about your girlfriend. Is she alright?" that question couldn't have been phrased any worse than that as Aoki felt his face begin to blush almost right away.

Aoki: "SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" he tried to correct that misunderstanding which seemed to have been going through the kids in that whole class. Still, when he looked at how everyone's faces changed when that question had been worded the man couldn't help but share their sorrow. "_They really do miss her, don't they? I guess that the kids really do like her energetic type after all!_" but those thoughts didn't last long as he began to think of an answer to give these children.

Aoki: "_Honestly even I don't know anything about Kokonoe. I guess I should have made time and find out what happened to her. Maybe I really am a careless teacher…._" he contemplated as more and more ideas began popping up in his head.

He could have been honest with these kids and just say that he had no idea of what had happened to her but he decided against it. He didn't want to leave the impression that he was a teacher who didn't care about their wellbeing so he made up his mind and chosen to lie to them.

Aoki: "Ah yes. She's fine. I've spoken to her yesterday actually and she said that she only had an asthma attack when she was taken by the ambulance to the hospital last week. She's currently fine and she wants you not to worry about her! _Good. As long as she'll be gone I'll just have to make the kids not worry too much. She should be back to school soon anyways….._" he thought to himself as the lie seemed to have worked to most of his students. Most except for 2 actually: Rin's friends.

Kuro: "I can't believe he would lie to us like that! This guy is nothing but a shameless jerk!" being part of Kokonoe's plan these girls already knew what was going on and they knew that Rin should have been diagnosed with cancer by now. However, the fact that their teacher didn't even know about this, and worse, even lied to everyone almost like he thought that everything would work fine by itself in the end just infuriated her.

Mimi: "Kuro-chan. I'm sure that Aoki-sensei said that just because he doesn't want anyone to get worried about her…." she tried to defend her teacher the best she could although she had to admit that his ignorance towards his student's wellbeing and condition, especially after that worrying scene at school, was pretty infuriating.

Kuro: "That's not the problem, Mimi-chan! Rin-chan fainted in the middle of the class and pretended to be unconscious that whole time and he didn't even bother to check up on her condition ever since that day?! He doesn't even know she has cancer! And this whole plan of hers was just to get his attention in the first place!" her friend could not deny any of those words. She had to admit that seeing Aoki so ignorant and uncaring towards Rin's health issues was irritating as hell and as soon as Kuro saw Mimi stop defending the man she saw that as an opportunity to go after him and give him a piece of her mind.

Aoki: "Huh? Kagami? Usa? What's happening? Why are you 2 still here? Shouldn't you be heading home like all the other kid-…" that was when he felt a punch right in his abdomen when the black haired girl decided that physical abuse was the only way to go against this man. Aoki immediately covered his stomach with his hands as he fought the urge to spit what fluids came back up his throat. In doing so he also bent down a little reflexively while enduring the pain.

Mimi: "Kuro-chan!" she yelled at her friend for doing that to their teacher.

Kuro: "What? He deserved it!" she tried to defend herself when the man suddenly recovered and glared at her.

Aoki: "What was that for? Why are you so violent today, Kagami?" he asked only to be responded to with another glare back.

Kuro: "Urusai, virgin! You deserve even worse for lying to everyone like that!" she pointed her finger accusatively at him only to make him realize that they knew something.

Aoki: "Wh-what are you talking about? Are you saying that you know something about Kokonoe?" that was when Kuro realized the flaw in her plan: she never should have done that. Now the teacher knew that they knew something and that could very quickly expose Rin's plans. Now she needed to cover up their tracks fast!

Kuro: "Uh….well…..uhhh…" this had been a bad move. Her rash actions were going to expose them and she had no idea what to say now. She would have taken everything back now but it was already too late.

Aoki: "You guys…..you know something, don't you? Is something going on with Kokonoe? Did she do something bad again?" he began to throw them another glare which only made Kuro stammer a little. Deciding that her friend was not going to get them out of this mess Mimi decided it was her turn to fix things.

Mimi: "Uh….well. What Kuro-chan was trying to say is that we kept in contact with Rin-chan this whole time since we are her best friends and we know about her condition!" she tried to explain to him. That did seem to work when Aoki's expression became less harsh and gentler suddenly.

Aoki: "And what exactly do you know about her then? How is she?" he inquired as he soon seemed to have lost any suspicions about them. Mimi began to ponder if she should let him know of the fact that Rin had cancer or not but decided that if he had been this unconcerned about her wellbeing up until now then he would most likely continue to be the same even after today so someone had to tell him about her. Gulping a little Mimi looked at him with a serious face.

Mimi: "Sensei…..Rin-chan is…"

~That same day, hospital, nighttime~

Rin: "_It's been a week now…..and nobody came to see me. I thought that sensei would have been a lot more worried over me but I guess I was wrong!_" this was very bad.

Her entire plan was to trick her teacher into thinking that she was terminally ill so that he would open up to her when he thought she would be enjoying her last days. And although that had seemed like a good strategy at first, it all had backfired on her almost instantaneously.

Not only had he not come to check up on her, he had not even called her or anything. She had asked Reiji if anyone from her school had contacted him either but the response was always the same. It was almost like nobody even cared that she was in the hospital. Everyone was just ignoring her…..making her existence feel almost unnecessary.

Rin: "_I almost wish I could die now…_" she grudgingly thought to herself. Then again, now she had no idea what to do anymore.

She was supposed to die in just a week and that meant that she didn't have that much time to fool around playing patient. In just a week everyone will be expecting her to die and that obviously was a problem.

She had thought about pretending to make a miraculous recovery at the very last day and all but she knew very well that even Reiji wouldn't fall for that. Sooner or later they will all find out the truth and that will be the end of her plan.

Well, in a way, she knew all the time that sooner or later her plan will end and everyone will find out the truth and will punish her gravely for what she had done. However, she was ready to accept all that if her plan would succeed. If she would have fooled her teacher into admitting his feelings for her before her plan ended then it would be a victory. The sad part was that she didn't had that much time left and if he would not show up in the next week then all this trouble she had caused would be in vain.

And her getting grounded for nothing didn't sound all that appealing.

Rin: "_I guess I should have thought about this more thoroughly after all. I just thought he would show up the very next day after I got in this hospital…I guess I was wrong. Maybe he actually doesn't like me…_" that was probably the worst outcome her plan could have taken and sadly for her, this was what reality had in store for her. Maybe this was God's way of punishing her for all the pain she had brought upon Reiji for making him sad and depressed like that for a second time in his life.

Then again, if that was the case then she shouldn't mind that punishment. She fully deserved it and she knew it.

Speaking of Reiji, the man had made her go to a private clinic a couple of days ago to recheck her lungs for any trace of cancer. Being in the worried state he had been in she couldn't really accuse him of wanting to make sure that she was really that sick. Of course, she had not wanted to go there but she knew that being too stubborn and refusing it would bring suspicion upon her so she had eventually given in and had accepted it.

The obvious problem was that neither she, nor her friends, would be able to alter her results there so that diagnostic would most likely be correct this time. If Reiji will find those results before the ending of this new week then he would find out that everything had been a lie this whole time.

Rin: "_I wonder what to do…..If I give away my plan to him now he will get very mad at me but at least I will end his depression earlier and make it easier on myself since it would be like me admitting my plan. If I'll wait for another week and risk him finding out on his own about this then I'm going to be in even worse trouble….What should I do?_" she basically had the choice of taking the safe route and confessing right then to him about everything and just hope that he won't get too mad at her (but also quitting her plan and reducing any chances of success with her teacher to 0) or taking the risky route and just hope that Reiji won't find out about her condition before her teacher will show up (if he would ever show up). The latter had a chance of success with Aoki but the more days kept passing the more her doubts about taking this route were growing.

Rin: "_Maybe I should just quit it right now…..I don't want to see Reiji suffer like that any longer….._" but just as she thought that she heard a voice from behind her door.

~Corridor~

Nurse: "I'm sorry sir but visiting hours are over. I'm afraid you will have to wait until tomorrow!" the young lady tried to reason with this seemingly worried and anxious man.

Aoki: "I know and I'm very sorry about this. It's just that I really need to see her as soon as possible! I promise it won't take too long!" he couldn't believe what he was doing. He was bothering this hospital at this late hour just so he could visit Kokonoe. In all honesty he could very well have listened to that nurse and go back home and return the next day but after having heard of the girl's condition from her friends…..and knowing that she was in such grave pain…..something in him almost snapped and he became worried. So worried that he felt the need to talk to her right away even if he needed to just plunge through the hospital and break all the doors in his way if need be.

Nurse: "Sir, you do realize that the girl is probably sleeping right now, don't you?" at that the man looked down on the floor for a second almost like he was ashamed of what he was doing. However, that didn't last long and immediately afterwards he looked back up at her with renewed determination in his eyes.

Aoki: "I understand that. And I know that I'm probably disturbing other patients' sleep as well just by being here. But….please, it's been a week since I've last seen her and only today have I found out that she has cancer. I'm worried sick about her….." he admitted everything as the young female stared at him with dubious eyes not really sure if she should buy the story or not.

Nurse: "Are you part of her family or something?"

Aoki: "Uh…not really. You can say in a way that I'm someone very close to her…." this nurse wasn't in the mood of arguing right now and she knew very well that only by negotiating with that man at that time she was creating more commotion and disturbing the other patients even worse than what would have happened if she just allowed him to go see the girl.

Looking in his worried and desperate eyes the woman eventually gave in and decided to allow him to enter just so that they wouldn't bother the other patients any further.

Nurse: "Fine, you may see her. However, you have only 10 minutes. No more!"

Aoki: "Thank you!"

~Kokonoe's room~

The door to that chamber slowly opened as light began to flow in and disturb the girl's eyes. From the sudden gush of brightness a figure emerged…the figure of a young man….a man she had been waiting for a week now.

As his eyes were trying to adjust to the darkness of the room he slowly closed the door behind him and wondered if he should switch on the lights or not. In all honesty the room was illuminated pretty well by the moonlight entering from the windows and he knew that if Kokonoe was sleeping switching on the lights would only bother her.

Deciding against that action he slowly made his way to the only bed he could find in that chamber. He tried to walk slowly and cautiously simply because he thought that she was sleeping.

Rin: "Ohaio, sensei!" she brightly smiled at him, letting him know that being sneaky wouldn't help him at all.

Aoki: "K-kokonoe? You're awake? At this hour?" he looked a little surprised at that.

Rin: "It's only 23:16, sensei _(cough)_. It's not really that late you know!" maybe it wasn't for him but wasn't this past bedtime for her?

And, anyway, what could she have done to stay awake that long in that room? It wasn't like there was anything to do in that hospital room, was there?

Aoki: "In any case….you're probably wondering why I came this late, aren't you?" he asked scratching the back of his head trying to think of an excuse as Rin just continued to stare at him waiting for him to give her his explanation. "Well….the truth is….I….well…..it's that I….uhh…." he didn't know how to word what he wanted to say. If he revealed her the truth then she would find out that he hadn't bothered to check up on her that whole time and that would make him look bad. Then again, that was the truth.

Aoki: "I…..uhh….."

Rin: "You forgot to come check up on me, didn't you, sensei? You found out about my condition today and now, feeling worried and guilty you decided to come see me even at this hour!" as expected from Kokonoe, she managed to figure it out by herself. Her teacher raised his head all of a sudden in pure shock….not really knowing how to respond to that. She just hit the nail pointblank with that one and left him completely open. He knew he could try to lie to her now but was it really necessary? And would she really buy it since she already figured everything out by herself?

Aoki: "Uh…..well…..yes…..I did forget to check up on you this whole time. I'm very sorry!" he said lowering his head in disappointment.

In actuality, teachers are not obligated by any law or moral system to check up on their students when they get sick and get into the hospital. However, most teachers do that just because of concern and that usually is also a sign of friendship and bond between the teacher and his pupil.

But he…..now that he thought about it he had failed to do that. Mostly because he had thought Kokonoe's condition to be temporary and decided to brush it off. Never had he ever thought of her actually having cancer, of all things. To say that he was surprised wouldn't even scratch the bottom of the barrel.

Rin: "It's ok, sensei. _(cough cough) _I forgive you. I'm just happy you came to see me….." that almost felt like an insult to him. For a second he thought that she said that intentionally just to make him feel even worse about himself and hurt him.

Aoki: "Gomen, honto ni gomen…. I never knew…If I would have known I would hav-….." but then he stopped himself mid-sentence when he realized what he was about to say. If he knew she had cancer only then would he have come to visit her? That didn't sound like an excuse at all.

Immediately he tried to rephrase that as well as the girl began giggling beside him enjoying his struggle at not trying to offend her in any way.

Rin: "_Sometimes he can really be cute….._" she thought to herself as the man was almost panicking over how he should reword his sentences. "Ne, sensei…"

Aoki: "Huh? What is it?"

Rin: "What do you think is going _(cough)_ to happen after I die?" hearing that made Aoki feel sick as well. That sounded unusually weird coming from her and that scared him even worse.

Aoki: "Huh? What do you mean? You're not going to die! The doctors here will surely do their best to treat you and brin-…."

Rin: "They already said that in 5 days I'll die!" that took him by surprise. Did the doctors actually tell her that? Now he really was worried.

Aoki: "But…but….isn't the medication helping you at all?"

Rin: "They didn't give me any! They already said that it was too late and I shouldn't bother with that!" that almost left him speechless.

Aoki: "Bu-…but…..you look so healthy!" he tried to ignore her occasional coughs. Honestly she really did look well for him and he couldn't believe that a girl like herself would die so soon so easily.

Rin: "I know. But that's _(cough)_ what the doctor said. He said that it's supposed to be genetic or something like that….." he couldn't believe this. His student was going to die in a couple of days….his favorite student even.

The man felt all his energy leave his body. He wanted to comfort her, he really did, but he had no idea what to say. This was the first time in his life when he had ever been confronted with such a situation. Indeed he was scared but what could he do?

He just stood there, while his student was suffering on the bed. He felt so bad for her. But…..he didn't know what to say.

As they stood there in the darkness none of them could say anything anymore. It was almost like they both just froze over. The teacher didn't know how to respond to that and so he decided that the best solution was to stay silent. However, this was the first time in a whole week when Kokonoe got to see him and she wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.

Rin: "Ne…..sensei. Since I'm going to die soon…isn't there _(cough cough)_ something you want to tell me?" that caught his curiosity.

Aoki: "Huh? What?"

Rin: "Isn't there something you'd want me to know before dying? Something which you'd regret over if you didn't say it to me before _(cough)_ I'm gone forever from your life?" that sounded pretty serious so Aoki did his best to think over what she was trying to get at. He thought about many things but he couldn't really imagine what she would have wanted to hear from him. Seeing this, Rin decided to force him a little bit. "Don't you want to tell me how you feel about me? How you'd miss me? How you love me?"

She wanted to see his affection and his confession. However, her plan quickly backfired when she suddenly saw his eyes beginning to frown.

Aoki: "Oi, Kokonoe! This is serious! You shouldn't joke about that in a time like this!" he tried to scold her although he only added to the girl's frustration.

Rin: "Huh? I'm not joking! Sensei, are you saying that you didn't come here to tell me that?"

Aoki: "Quit that already! I just came here to see you again! Of course I'm worried because of you! Demo, you shouldn't be talking about things like that!" he was mad at her. But that only because he knew that she was taking advantage of her own condition to get to him. He and everyone else seemed to have been worried sick about her, especially after he had found out that she had a serious condition like cancer and now she was abusing that just to get his attention. That irritated him.

Rin: "Then what do you want from me…..?" she quietly said as she felt something snap inside her. This was the first time when she had ever felt this way. She felt annoyed...no, rather, furious because of him. She had thought that he would have cracked once he saw her in the hospital bed like that. Apparently she was wrong though.

Aoki: "Huh? What do you mean?" obviously he was confused.

Rin: "What am I supposed to do to make you admit that you love me? What am I supposed to do? Is being here on the verge of death not enough for you? What more do you want?" this was the first time in her life when she felt furious at her teacher. Then again, she had all the reasons to be like that. After all the effort she had put into this plan of course she would be mad.

Her teacher just stared at her, not sure how he was supposed to respond to that. He was scared. He finally understood that that was what she wanted to hear from her. She really wanted him to love her. She wanted him to tell her that she loved her. She wanted him to treat her like an adult. However…he couldn't do that.

Aoki: "Kokonoe…you can't expect me to do that. I know you like me but…..you're still a child….even if you're like this I just can-…." but he was cut off when he saw her glare at him.

Rin: "I see…so you're still saying things like that…" her face suddenly became unreadable. She looked hurt for a second but immediately afterwards she dropped any sign of emotion off her face making herself completely expressionless to him. He immediately realized that he had made a mistake he shouldn't have.

Aoki: "Kokonoe…I…."

Rin: "Arigato for coming sensei. I really appreciate it. However, I'm kind of sleepy right now so can you leave, please…..?" but it was too late. He realized his mistake when there was no more time to fix it anymore.

Aoki: "Kokonoe…..I'm sorry….I didn't mean it like that. What I wanted to say was tha-…."

Rin: "Sensei. Can you leave me alone now? I want to sleep!" her voice didn't sound soft and sweet anymore, almost like she stopped trying to seem like that. That very second he understood that he had made a fatal error in his judgment and now this is going to cost him gravely.

Aoki: "Kokonoe, I really didn't mean that. I ju-…."

Nurse: "You heard her sir. She wants to sleep. I'm afraid I can't let you continue to harass our patients anymore like that. Please, exit this room now!" the nurse suddenly appeared out of nowhere with a glare on her face. The man stood there not really sure what he was supposed to do now. He wanted to apologize to her, he really did.

Aoki: "Kokonoe, please, listen to me…!" he tried but the girl hid under the covers of her bed to block his words out. "Kokonoe…..!" but he was then grabbed by the nurse and pulled away.

Nurse: "Sir, this is your last warning. Either get out willingly or I'm calling security!" she began to drag him out by force. The man didn't want to go, he needed to rectify his mistakes but he quickly realized that no matter what he would say anymore the small girl will not listen to him. It was already too late to make amends anymore.

Aoki: "Hai…I understand…." he said in a low voice giving in to the nurse's commands. He slowly walked out of the room accompanied by her with a defeated look on his face, finally understanding how much of an idiot he really was. "I'm sorry, Kokonoe. I didn't want to hurt you!" he said one final phrase before exiting the chamber.

Thankfully he didn't seem to have heard the girl's sobbing behind her covers.

Rin: "_My plan…failed….._"


	4. Gaining determination

**Chapter 4**

**Gaining determination**

~Kokonoe's room~

She hated her life. She really did by this point. Her whole plan had been ruined and now she was completely defenseless. She had nothing to do anymore, nowhere to go and she had no more plans to get out of this.

Theoretically now that her plan had died she could confess to Reiji everything and just end this ordeal once and for all. But…in the end she decided against it.

She didn't care if Reiji found out by himself anymore and got angry at her. Actually, she decided to just let things solve by themselves in the end. She had no willingness to do anything anymore.

2 days ago, she had pleaded to her guardian to ask the doctors to let her out of the hospital. And so, now they both returned to their house and she was sitting on the bed of her own room. Of course, normally that shouldn't be possible but since she was a terminally ill patient to whom conventional medicine would have no effect at all they decided that keeping her there would be kind of pointless and so the doctors had agreed to discharge her.

Rin: "_Now…I wonder what I should do…_" as she stood there in the silence of her room the doorbell was heard downstairs. She didn't really felt like going but since Reiji was gone at work and nobody else was home she had no choice (even though she should stay in bed since everyone believed that she was terminally ill).

She descended the stairs in a not-so-happy mood and then opened the door only for her to be greeted by the mailman.

Mailman: "Ohio, Rin-chan! How is your day?" he asked in his usual cheerful calm voice which she had never understood if it was fake or not. This man had always been this happy whenever he was on duty and she had never comprehended the reason for that. Was that part of his job, to pretend to be cheerful, or did he really love his job that much?

Rin: "Ah, it's…..uh…..good. Everything's great!" she tried to respond with the same amount of cheerfulness although she quickly realized that she was the one who was faking now.

The older man didn't seem to care though as he handed her the mail, wished her a good day and went on. The girl looked after him for a few seconds before closing the door to the house and inspecting the papers she had received.

Since Reiji was most of the times gone at work she was the one who needed to take the mail and sort it. While reading every single envelope and its sender she quickly came across something new: on the paper it said 'Test results: Kokonoe Rin'.

Those words immediately caught her eyes and made her realize that this must have been sent by the private clinic which she had been taken to by Reiji a couple of days ago to recheck her lungs for cancer.

Since that was a particularly busy and eccentric private clinic, they usually didn't tend to contact their patients to come get their diagnostic results from them, they just sent the results over mail most of the times directly. That was exceptionally lucky for her simply because that meant that Reiji didn't know that her new results had arrived and so she could hide them from him, seeing that these new results were most likely true to her condition.

Rin almost immediately distributed the other envelops accordingly around the house so that Reiji would find them later and kept that particular one to herself as she went up to her room to read it.

~School, classroom~

The children were unusually active that day. They were annoyingly noisy, hyperactive, stubborn and mean, creating chaos in the class and making the poor teacher want to pull his hair out with his very own fingers.

No…rather put it wasn't the fact that they were unusually active, they were just the way kids were supposed to be at this age. It was the fact that he had gotten used to them being quiet because of the depression they had gone through when Rin had disappeared all of a sudden from their lives. The days after Rin had been taken by the ambulance had been quiet and the atmosphere during the classes had been almost depressing as everyone had looked sad constantly. However, that didn't last forever apparently, as that day they seemed to have revitalized themselves somehow. The kids had begun to start acting loud once again, creating ruckus and headaches for most of the adults in the building. It was almost like they had forgotten all about Rin now.

Aoki: "_(sigh) I sometimes envy these kids…able to forget about their problems and just move on with their lives like nothing had happened in the first place…..that's pretty incredible!_" he hated to admit it but he couldn't get that girl out of his head. And he was pretty sure that no matter what he would ever do he would never be able to erase her face from his mind. Then again….that was pretty normal. Unlike children adults had the burden of carrying the pain of responsibility and remember every single hour, every minute, every second, of what they had to do or what bothered them the most. And now what bothered him was Rin.

Aoki: "_I really want to see her. I just want to apologize to her….._" he didn't have that much time left. If he remembered correctly she didn't have more than a couple of days to live. That obviously bothered him. He had tried going to the hospital again after his first visit but he had been informed that she had been discharged and had been sent home. He couldn't contact her anymore either.

Whenever he had tried to call her phone she had rejected all of his calls. He could have also tried to go to her house and see her there but it was pretty clear that she had no intention of wanting to see or speak to him any time soon. She seemed to be mad at him and, now that he thought about it, he couldn't really accuse her.

After all, she had always wanted to receive some love from him, some affection and some attention. As a kid, those requirements are very basic and very understandable, especially if the child doesn't have his parents around the house.

The only thing Kokonoe wanted from him was a little attention. However, the form of attention and love she had asked for was something which he did not think was very healthy, at least not for him. She had always asked for things which were too mature for her, which unsettled him most of the times. He had no idea how such a young girl could even know about such things but what bothered him the most was the fact that she knew more about the subject than even he did. And he was more than twice her age.

Aoki: "_What am I even thinking anymore?_" he couldn't believe himself. He was actually thinking of doing unholy things to a small girl. Then again, it was her who actually wanted such things to be done to her, and the fact that he had always refused them always seemed to have hurt her. "_Up until now I always thought that she was just kidding. I can't believe she actually wants me to…_" why would a young girl be interested in a man like himself?

He had never been that attractive in the eyes of most of the women he had met throughout his life so why was Kokonoe so different? Why did she want to do such things with him? She wanted to hug him, to kiss him, to play with his ear, to touch him…to go even farther than that. Why did she want him so much? Why was he so special in her eyes?

Then again, maybe that wasn't the question he should be asking himself right now. The real question was what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to just go along with it? Up until now he had refused all of her offers and that ended up hurting her, especially last time. Maybe he should have accepted at least once? Maybe then things would have gone a little better?

Aoki: "_But….I'm a grown adult and she is just a child! How can I even think of doing that to her?_" he really didn't know what he was supposed to do now.

At any rate, the bottom-line was that he wanted to apologize to her. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she died hating him for what he had done. He wanted to at least make her happy once again before she left. And he had no idea how to deliver her such happiness or how to even contact her at all.

Student: "Uh, sensei?" one student raised his hand waking the teacher from his deep thoughts. While he had been thinking of Rin he left all his muscles to his subconscious as his hands had continued to draw on the chalkboard.

Aoki: "Yes? What is it?" he asked turning around to see the class.

Student: "You're daydreaming about your girlfriend again!" he snickered as everyone in the class began to laugh at his expense. At first Aoki just stared confused at them, not really sure what gave him away but when he looked behind him at the chalkboard once again, he realized that he had been writing Rin's name for a couple of minutes. Embarrassed he picked up the sponge and began to clean the writing while all the kids only continued to snicker over the situation as Rin's friends only sweat dropped at their teacher's clumsiness.

~End of session, corridor~

Aoki: "_(sigh) I can't believe this. I should pay more attention to what I am doing!_" even though he had said that his mind quickly returned to the blond girl who he had managed to hurt a couple of days ago. He really didn't know what to do.

90% of his mind wanted to apologize to her but refused to want to go to her house, simply because he knew that he wasn't welcome there anymore (from neither Rin nor her guardian). However, there was that lingering 10% which kept bugging him to go see her again, at least now before she dies. He knew that he should go but he just didn't want to face her guardian. No….that wasn't it.

He was scared of facing Rin rather. He knew that she was mad at him and just by going there uninvited and when he was unwelcome might worsen her hatred towards him. Furthermore, how was he supposed to make her forgive him? What could he possibly say to make amends for what he had done?

Hōin: "Aoki-sensei?" a sudden voice pulled him once again from his daydreaming as the man suddenly realized how hopeless he was for allowing his mind to wander to other places yet again.

Aoki: "Kyōko-san?" he turned around to find his coworker walking down the same hallway after exiting another classroom. "Ah, gomen! I was thinking of something and I didn't notice you!"

Hōin: "Don't worry about it. I know the feeling! I was just worried about you since you've been so silent all day!" she said to him as they both began to walk on relatively equal paces towards the teacher's lounge.

Aoki: "Ah, that? Well, let's just say that I have some problems on my mind…" he said looking away after reaching his sentence's end. He wanted to phrase that a bit differently but apparently it did not work. Still, his friend already guessed what the problem was.

Hōin: "It's about Kokonoe-chan, isn't it?" she asked with a low voice and a sorrowful smile. The man quickly turned his head to her amazed at how quickly she had read him but then he calmed down when he remembered how he himself was the one who had told her about Kokonoe's condition the other day.

Aoki: "Yes." he said calmly as his expression suddenly became unreadable, even for her. Soon, he didn't say anything anymore as his thoughts seemed to have wandered to that girl once again. However, Hōin couldn't blame him.

If she had a student with cancer she didn't know how depressed she would get either. It was only natural for a teacher to be affected by his students' conditions, especially for a loving and careful teacher like Aoki.

Hōin: "Aoki-sensei. I don't want to sound pushy or anything but I really do think that you should take a break. Or at least relax after our program is over!" she told him genuinely concerned because of the way he was acting and how distant he seemed to have become recently.

Aoki: "Huh, maybe. I guess I really have been acting a little weird, have I not?" he tried to laugh at his own expense but when he noticed the grim look his colleague was throwing him he stopped and looked away once again. "Yeah, you're right. I just need some time to sort my feelings out…."

Hōin: "I see" she looked on the floor for a while trying to decide if she should take this as an opportunity to invite him out. She felt a little ashamed of herself for thinking to take advantage of such a serious grim situation but she also wanted to make Aoki feel better and help him relax. He really needed that and just by looking at him she knew that he deserved some peace of mind. "Then, how about we go out tonight? I mean, if you want to we can talk it over. That is, if you have the time, of course!" she stammered a little as the man looked at her in pure puzzlement.

Aoki: "Uh, you sure about this? I don't want to occupy your free time or anything just because you're worried about me!"

Hōin: "Ah, don't worry about it! It's just that I too need some time out since whenever I think about Kokonoe-chan my heart hurts a little…."

Aoki: "Yeah, I know the feeling" he closed his eyes and took a deep breathe while thinking about this. Truthfully he really needed to sort his feelings out and find a solution to his dilemma. However, he also knew that pondering over the same problem continuously rarely leads to a solution. Most of the times the best answers to a problem pop up out of nowhere when you're not thinking about the crisis at all. This little break might actually be beneficial after all. And besides, maybe talking about it with someone trustworthy like Hōin might also help him decide on a proper course of action.

Aoki: "Eh, you're right! Maybe I really need some time off after all. Arigato for investing your time in helping me, Kyōko-san!" at that she couldn't help but blush slightly.

Hōin: "Ah, don't worry about it! I'm just happy I can help you!"

~School front yard~

The sun was beginning to set. As he was trying to enjoy the little free time he had during this period break, neither the cheerful laughs of the children playing in front of him, nor the cool breeze which seemed to refresh his skin with a smooth feeling of rushed dry air managed to keep his mind to this realm anymore.

He really tried not to think of Rin but he couldn't help it. He could neither get to her through the phone nor did he have the courage to go to her house but he couldn't get her out of his head either. He was basically trapped in a situation where he didn't know what to do. As a teacher he knew very well that he shouldn't get involved in a student's private life, especially if neither the student nor his guardian wanted the intervention, so he couldn't just barge into their house without any reason.

However, he didn't know what else to do. He really wanted to talk to her once again…..even if he did not know what to say to her. He wanted to at least apologize. But how?

As he pondered and pondered over and over again while most of the kids were not even noticing him, Kuro and Mimi stood a couple of meters away from him, staring at his depressed look, both with differing opinions on the matter.

Mimi: "Poor sensei. He looks devastated because of what happened" she commented with a sad look. Being Rin's best friends, they were the only ones other than Rin herself who knew of what had happened when Aoki had come to visit Rin in the hospital. Their friend had told them all about that conversation and so both knew how much both the girl and their teacher were suffering right then.

Kuro: "That's because of his own stupidity. He acted like a complete idiot, like always!" her friend seemed to have a different view on the situation though. "Rin-chan did everything in her power to get his attention and affection with this plan. However, like a total thickheaded virgin, he just had to screw everything up and refuse her once again and then make the both of them suffer because of that! Guys like that disgust me!" she growled while frowning when looking at the lonely grown man standing on the bench in front of them, not even noticing their stares.

Mimi: "Demo, Kuro-chan, isn't that what you wanted? Wouldn't you have felt bad if sensei really did fall for Rin-chan after this plan started?" she asked a little confused at Kuro's inexplicable attitude.

Kuro: "I would. However, Rin-chan worked very hard to get her plan to completion. We worked very hard as well to help her! We did everything in our power just to see her happy after all of this and then he stumbles in and ruins all our expectations! How is that fair?" the more she was talking about it the more she could feel the anger boiling up inside her. She really hated that man. Everything he did seem to piss her off and that always got on her nerves.

Incapable of enduring this pathetic scene anymore, Kuro couldn't help but burst all out against her teacher. She didn't care if it was wrong. She really felt the need give him a piece of her mind. Seeing him in that pitiful way and leaving him stand there hopelessly while Rin was suffering just because of him was just too much to just watch.

Kuro: "Hey, virgin!" the young girl shouted all of a sudden gaining the attention of both her lamentable teacher and her worried friend. "You done sulking already?" she spat fully annoyed as the man didn't even bother to get mad at her insult anymore and just stared bewildered at the child.

Mimi: "Kuro-chan…..I don't think it's a good idea to-….." but her voice was quickly cut off as Kuro seemed to have had it with her teacher. She felt the need to finally release her anger on this man once and for all.

Kuro: "What do you think you are doing here all alone like that? Do you really think you have the right to pity yourself after what you did to Rin-chan?! Or do you think that acting all depressed and hurt like an injured little puppy will make her feel better?" she knew that her words were hurting him but she didn't stop. No, it was because the words were so hurtful that she was throwing them at him. In her opinion this man deserved each and every single one of them. She was about to give him a dose of reality.

Aoki: "_What's going on here? Does Kagami know the fact that I hurt Rin? No….what am I thinking? She is Rin's best friend after all…of course she knows what happened between me and Rin at the hospital! Usa most likely knows about it too….._" despite how cruel and cutting those insults were the man did not get angry at Kuro at all. He knew he deserved them and so he just lowered his head and accepted them.

His lack of response and dignity did not do him any good however as this only infuriated the young gothic dressed girl even further as she felt even more frustrated.

Kuro: "Doing that won't get you anywhere! Do you really think that just taking my insults like that and accepting them will make me forgive you?! Instead of being here doing nothing and being useless like always you should go to her house and apologize for what you did to her!" she didn't stop there, obviously. No, she was far from over. If she needed to go as far as verbally abusing him then she would do it. She was willing to do just about anything if it would put Rin's plans back on track. Even if she had to beat the crap out of this pathetic crying dog then she would do it. If that would make him grow some balls and finally push Rin's scheme to completion then that was all that mattered. After working so hard on that plan and on Rin's happiness, she was not about to leave everything wither to dust.

Aoki didn't say anything and just squeezed his eyes.

Kuro: "Rin-chan always loved you! She always did everything she could just to get close to you! But you…you never gave her even a chance! Not even a single chance at all! You kept ignoring her every single attempt and treated her like a child all the time after all her hard work! How do you think she always felt?!" that was when his eyes flew wide open.

Aoki: "_I…I….she's right. I always did that to Rin…..She always wanted me to give her at least one chance….to at least allow her to try. She's been flirting, playing and even harassing me. I always thought of those times as her just trying to fool around but…what I did was that I always belittled her._"

~Flashback~

_Aoki: "Kokonoe…you can't expect me to do that. I know you like me but…..you're still a child….even if you're like this I just can-…." but he was cut off when he saw her glare at him._

_Rin: "I see…so you're still saying things like that…"_

~End of flashback~

Aoki: "_What have I done? All this time she just wanted me to treat her like a real woman. She just wanted me to love her like I would love a woman…demo_" he closed his eyes as he regained his composure. "Then…what am I supposed to do?" he said with a frown on his face.

Kuro: "What?! Do you want me to spell it out for you?! Fine then! You need to go to her house and say what she wants to hear from you! To do what she wants you to d-….."

Aoki: "Do you know what that implies, Kagami?" he suddenly looked at her with a glare, and a serious mad look on him. "Don't you think I've always thought of that? However, how can I ever do that to her? She's a child, she's a student! She's MY student! How can I ever say to her that I love her? Do you know what people will think of me if I said that to a 10 year old girl!? Do you know what will happen to my job if I did that? Do y-…"

Kuro: "Urusai…" she said in a very low voice, so low that he barely heard it at all. "So, just because of what people will think of you, you'll just gonna shoot her down every single time she'll try to get close to you?" she glared back at him but this time he lost all of his confidence. "Just because people will think bad things of you, you'll just ignore her for the rest of your life and make her suffer?! Is your happiness really that important that you have to sacrifice hers?"

Aoki: "Well…..I-….."

Kuro: "That means in order to make yourself happy, you are willing to never make her happy…not even in a time when she truly needs you….not even when she's in bed right now on the verge of death, huh?!" with that he felt his heart ache. He couldn't block out those words. They were just too painful but also too shattering to be blocked out.

Aoki: "I….." he didn't know what to say in response to that. He was completely broken.

Mimi: "Kuro-chan, I think that's enough. Aoki-sensei already looks ruined….." the man in front of them bent down once again as he rested his arms on his legs and left his head look directly at the ground.

Kuro: "I really hate you, virgin. You're not willing to give her happiness even now. You're just a heartless monster for abandoning Rin in a time of need like this. Then again, I guess it is her fault for choosing a worthless piece of trash like you!" Kagami had always been harsh with him but today she had been extra ruthless. Each word she said seem to be coated in venom which only darkened his heart when it got to him. Never had she been this insensitive with what she had said before. Still, he knew that she meant every word.

Kuro: "Virgin, if you're really going to let her die unhappy like she is right now, I swear I will never forgive you! She won't be the only one who will hate you for the rest of eternity!" and with that Kuro began walking away all of a sudden turning her back to the man she had destroyed. "Let's go, Mimi-chan! We're wasting our break!" Mimi had no idea what to do anymore and if she should go with her friend or stay there and comfort her wounded teacher.

Mimi: "I'm truly sorry, sensei!" she bowed down to him before going after Kagami. Apparently she made a compromise between the two. Aoki just stood there in pure pain after being mentally tortured by none other than one of his students. And the worst part of it all was that everything was true.

Aoki: "_Was I really that cruel with Rin…all this time?_"

~Rin's room~

Paper: "Final Results: No traces of cancer could be found in the patient's body" after long and dense columns of writing plastered on that piece of paper, at the bottom of the sheet those words were written.

Rin: "_So, these results really were accurate…..If anyone finds this then it will be the end of my plan!_" it was true. That other clinic was right about her condition. Luckily for her nobody seemed to have learned that her test results have arrived, not even Reiji. "_I wonder what I should do with this….._" but as she thought that she heard footsteps behind her door as someone seemed to be approaching her room.

In a panic, Rin immediately bent down with that paper in her hand and hid it under her bed as soon as she could. The doorknob then quickly turned and the door began to crack.

Reiji: "Hey Rin, I'm back home!" the man said cheeringly again trying to hide the sadness behind his voice.

Rin: "Ah, Reiji. Welcome back!" she smiled innocently at him, hoping that he hadn't seen how she had hidden those papers under her bed. He didn't seem to have seen anything like that which was refreshing.

Reiji: "What would you like for dinner?"

Rin: "Ah….that. Sorry, I forgot all about it! I'm gonna go and make you a…" but as soon as she was about to hop down from her bed he immediately ran up to her and stopped her. "Huh?" she was confused by his sudden action.

Reiji: "No, Rin! You're sick, remember? You're going to stay in bed from now on, got it? Now, tell me what you want to eat and I'll make it! Ok?" usually she was the one who made dinner in that house since Reiji would always come home late. However, ever since she had been discharged from the hospital he had barely allowed her to do anything around the house and most of the times almost kept her locked in her room just to make sure she wouldn't strain herself. Although she appreciated the attention this was getting a little ridiculous.

Rin: "But-.…"

Reiji: "Please, Rin. I just want you to relax! There's no need for you to do it if I can do it, right? Besides, I'm trying to prove a point that men can cook as well, not only women!" he tried to joke a little at that but she did not laugh, not even smile. However, seeing how persistent he was, Rin decided to just go with it and allow him to do whatever he wanted.

Rin: "Fine….." she said with a childish pout on her face. Her guardian smiled a little at her before standing back up after she motioned to go back up her bed. "Then I'll have some pancakes. Is that ok?"

Reiji: "Great. Now just sit back, take a quick nap if you feel tired and let me do all the work. Dinner should be done in about half an hour!" and with that he closed the door behind him leaving the girl just stare at him depressed.

Rin: "_I can't believe how much he's forcing himself just to make me happy. Now I'm feeling even guiltier than before…_"

~Random restaurant~

Hōin: "This place is gorgeous! I have never been here before, Aoki-sensei!" the woman commented cheerfully as she looked around with a childish leer on her face. Truthfully this was the first time she had ever seen this place and judging from the looks of it this really was something which Aoki must have thought about thoroughly. This must have meant that he was taking this date thing seriously.

Aoki: "I'm glad you like it! Honestly I haven't been that often here either. I just remembered it as being a more luxurious place and so I decided to give it a try. Especially since Kyōko-san deserves something special!" he said while looking away. The other teacher only blushed slightly at his comment and hid a smile behind one of her hands.

As they sat there waiting for the waiter Aoki kept thinking of what Kuro had told him a couple of hours ago: about how he was the cause of Rin's unhappiness. Just to not let his current partner in conversation know that he was distracted he did that while staring at the menu in his hands, making it seem like he was thinking of what to order.

Hōin: "So, Aoki-sensei. Are you feeling any better now?" after a little while of silence, he was pulled out of his thoughts.

Aoki: "Huh?" he looked a little confused at first but quickly recovered. "Ah….uh…well….I guess I am a little happier. That's because I have you here to cheer me up!" he laughed lightly and although that was as cheesy as cheesy could get Hōin still smiled back at him kindly.

Hōin: "I'm glad I could help. After how depressed you've looked at school these last few days, seeing you smile is a nice change of scenery!" he couldn't help but smirk nervously at that.

After ordering their preferences the two adults went silent. Hōin just stood there anxious not really sure what to say as Aoki simply kept thinking about something else.

Aoki: "Kyōko-san, can I ask you something?" he suddenly disrupted the awkward silence with a sudden query which almost swept his date off her feet.

Hōin: "Of course, what is it?"

Aoki: "Am I…..a bad teacher?" he regained that depressed look once again when he asked this as he raised his pupils to stare at her and see if she would answer him honestly. Hōin didn't say anything at first and only stared back at him, completely dumbfounded by that sudden question. That seemed to have come out of nowhere and she was obviously not prepared for it.

Hōin: "Uh…..excuse me?" she had to make him repeat it so that she would have time to think up an answer.

Aoki: "Do you believe that I failed in teaching my students? That I have made one of those critical errors that Shirai-sensei was talking about?" he didn't change his face anymore as he looked dead serious into her eyes, almost like he was staring at her every reaction just to see if she would lie or not. He really wanted to hear an honest answer.

Hōin decided to close her eyes for a few seconds just to think about it. So, she had been wrong all this time. She had previously thought that he had been relaxed this whole time while on the date but it seemed that she had been wrong. This was not the case apparently. All this time he had been pretending to be happy while he had been thinking of something else.

However, why was he worrying about something like that all of a sudden? Like Kenta-sensei had said, Aoki was one of the most successful teachers in their school, having managed to bond with all of his students so well despite his inexperience. If anything she was envying him for his success.

Hōin: "Aoki-sensei, I honestly don't know where you even got that idea. You are a wonderful teacher and definitely one of the most hardworking ones I have ever seen in my entire life. You invest so much time into your students and also do your best to help them out almost like it is your duty. I truly feel that you are an admirable educator!" she had been honest. She felt that he deserved to know her real opinions of him and so she went on explaining everything she had thought about him.

However, those words didn't seem to have moved Aoki.

Aoki: "Demo…..even if you think that, I have hurt one of my students very badly….." he said while looking at the table with that same miserable face.

Hōin: "What do you mean?"

Aoki: "I have neglected a student multiple times, mistreated her severely, ignored the fact that she was in hospital and, worst of all, I have hurt her when she needed me the most. I have never shown her the affection she wanted, nor did I encourage her as I should have and now even her friends hate me" he was glaring at his own hands as he began clenching his fingers into fists. He really hated himself by this point. He really wanted to punch himself. "Do you really think a monster like me should be left in charge with some kids anymore?" his face was unreadable once again and Hōin was having a hard time trying to understand what he was thinking. She just gazed worriedly at him, not exactly sure how she was supposed to comfort him since he seemed so deep in depression. She would have liked to know what's going on but…..sadly for her…she had no idea what he was even referring to.

Hōin: "Aoki-sensei…"

Aoki: "After everything that happened…..I don't even know what to do anymore. And since I'm going to lose her soon…..I don't even have that much time left…." he felt like he was reaching his limits by this point. He couldn't help himself anymore. He felt the need of guidance, someone to tell him what to do, what path to take to correct his problems and so he spewed everything out to her in hopes that maybe, just maybe, she would find a solution.

As Hōin thought about what he had said she began to think to herself. It seemed that this situation was very delicate and she needed to be careful about what she would say so that he would not misinterpret her words or something. He already seemed to be pretty destroyed and she didn't know what to do anymore. However, when she replayed his words in her mind she quickly realized something.

Hōin: "Are you talking about Kokonoe?" she asked him out loud to which he only nodded. At that moment she understood and smiled once again. "Ah, I see now…." so, he was worried about that girl once again. Then again, it should have been obvious since she was the only one who would die soon. "Aoki-sensei, you're worried that she would die hating you?" he nodded once again.

Aoki: "After everything I did to her, of course I would worry about that. I had been a bad teacher to her. She only wanted some affection from me and I had to hurt her in response to that. What kind of cruel person am I?"

Hōin: "You are a very kind person, sensei!"

Aoki: "But…..how can you even say that?! I'm the one wh-….."

Hōin: "If you really were that cruel, would you have been thinking about her all the time? Would you have worried about her like you do right now?" at that he shut up and looked at her only to notice her leer at him. "Aoki-sensei, I believe you have the wrong idea about what's going on. If you really did hurt her then I'm sure it wasn't intentional. You just did that by mistake and that's normal!"

Aoki: "No, it's not! I'm a teacher! I have many responsibilities on my shoulders! I can't just make mistakes like that and ruin children's lives!" but at that she placed her hand on his stopping him and making him look into her eyes.

Hōin: "Aoki-sensei, everyone makes mistakes. Kid or adult, teacher or neurosurgeon, parent or child, that's how everyone gains experience. If we were born perfect from the very start then life would have been boring all the time! Learning from your mistakes is what's truly important, not avoiding them!" her words rang through his head as he kept staring at her.

Aoki: "Demo…..I destroyed a child's life! She'll die soon and I'll have to accept the fact that she closed her eyes with hate in her mind just because of me!" he felt how tears were beginning to form behind his glasses. He didn't want to cry right now, not in front of Hōin-sensei. He needed to be strong! He had to be strong. "This is just so unfair! Even though I just became a teacher…even though this is the first class I have ever taken in….this had to happen to me! One of my first students has to get cancer! And my favorite one nonetheless! Why did it have to happen to me?! WHY!?" he was on the verge of crying. He had accumulated too much stress and pain inside him and he couldn't take this anymore. "And now she'll die with scourge in her heart! What have I done?!"

Hōin: "Do you really think she hates you?" she asked while beginning to squeeze his hand tightly.

Aoki: "I….uh….." he stopped not really sure how to answer to that.

Hōin: "Aoki, like I said, everyone makes mistakes….even us teachers. If you said or did something which hurt her then that's normal as long as it was unintentional. However, now you need to fix that mistake!" she explained to him while he was paying close attention to everything she was saying.

Aoki: "But…what can I do to rectify it?! She doesn't want to see me anymore. I can't just go to her house and barge in like an animal when she doesn't even want to speak to me!"

Hōin: "Then would you prefer to leave her to die sad?" that moment something in Aoki seemed to have snapped as his eyes began to clear and the forming tears seem to dissipate.

Aoki: "I….."

Hōin: "Don't be ashamed of the mistakes you did in the past. What you need to do to make yourself happy is to fix them! If she was really that hurt because of what you said or did then your words really meant something to her and that means that she cares about you. Surely she will be able to at least listen to you a second time if that is the case….."

Aoki: "But…..but…what am I supposed to say to make her feel better?! I said the exact thing which hurt her the most! I refused to give her what she wanted!"

Hōin: "Do you regret what you did to her?" that took Aoki by surprise.

Aoki: "O-of course I do!"

Hōin: "Then, would you be able to say something different the next time the same circumstances would occur? Something which would not hurt her….something which would not cause the same mistake?" Aoki thought about that for a second. Would he be able to refuse Kokonoe's offers once again? Last time, the reason she had been hurt was because he had refused to treat her like a woman. He had refused to love her like she had always wanted.

Aoki: "I…" he didn't know if he should react differently this time. If she would begin to flirt with him once again, should he just not refuse her offers and go with it. That's what she wants, after all! She wants to at least enjoy the fruits of their "relationship" now before she dies. Would he be able to give himself to her just like that?

Aoki: "I…can't do that. It's wrong if I did what she asked me to do. I can't do something like that….especially not to her…..to a child…" he said in a low voice. What he was saying was cryptic although suggestive in a way. However, Hōin didn't even bother to interpret or think about what he was talking about.

Hōin: "Then you don't regret enough what you did to her!" she calmly responded to him.

Aoki: "B-but of course I do! It's just that….if I did that…something like that to her….to a child….I would never be able to forgive myself as a person….."

Hōin: "And because of that you refuse to do it? Then you're just putting your happiness over hers!" that was the point when he realized it. She was right. The only reason he had refused to give her what she wanted was because he was scared of becoming a pedophile, of doing something unholy to a child. He was afraid of that and so, in order to make sure that he wouldn't reduce himself to that level, he ignored her offers. However, in that process he hurt her. Basically, to assure his own happiness he refused to give her her own.

And that's what most people would call selfishness.

Aoki: "_Have I been a selfish teacher this whole time….? Maybe that's why I hurt Kokonoe….But….isn't doing what she wants me to do wrong? She's just a child after all! She's not a woman! She's-…_"

~Flashback~

_Kuro: "What?! Do you even want me to spell it out for you?! Fine then! You need to go to her house and say what she wants to hear from you! To do what she wants you to d-….."_

~End of flashback~

Aoki: "_For me to say what she wants me to say….for me to do what she wants me to do huh…?_" now he understood. This wasn't about his happiness, it was about hers.

She was the one who was about to die in a couple of days so what he thought about her wishes didn't matter. He just had to fulfill them before she would leave him forever. That's because….he didn't want to see her die sad. That's because he wanted to make amends for what he had done. That's because…he loved her. And he was at this point willing to do anything for her….even to condemn his soul for hell by doing probably the most atrocious sin of all….he just wanted to see her smile one last time and just to make her forgive him before she would fade away.

Aoki: "Now….I understand!" he had made his resolve. That moment, his dear friend noticed the renewed motivation on his face. He had made up his mind and had decided on a course of action. He had finally found his path. "Arigato, Kyōko-san, you helped me very much!"

Hōin: "There's no need to thank me. I'm just glad that you now know what to do!"

Aoki: "Hai! I'm just sorry that it took me this long to understand! Now I know that Kokonoe means to me more than anything else and now I know I must correct my mistakes!"

Hōin: "Then, what are you waiting for, brave hero? Go and get your princess!" Hōin joked while smiling kindly at him.

Aoki: "Huh, what are you saying? I can't just leave you like this in the middle of the date!" he said as her smile turned into a sorrowful one this time.

Hōin: "Don't worry about me. There is something very important that you must take care of right now! Someone else needs your attention at this moment! Isn't that right?" she winked at him.

Aoki: "Demo…"

Hōin: "Kini shinai, kini shinai. You should follow your heart right now. Don't worry about me! I'll just have to wait a little more before I'll get to enjoy you…. I can be patient!"

Aoki: "Huh…..uh…what?"

Hōin: "Ah, nothing, nothing. I was just joking!" she nervously laughed while looking away awkwardly as he just stared at her. "Be sure to be honest with her and your feelings, sensei. You both deserve it and I'm sure no matter what your true feelings are, she will accept them if you'll just be truthful with her!"

Aoki: "Hai, I understand! And arigato for everything. I'll make up for tonight later, I promise!" and with that he suddenly got up from his chair, got his coat, paid for both the orders and left. The woman just looked after him with another smile on her face almost like a mother being proud of her child.

Hōin: "_Aoki-sensei, you really are a splendid teacher!_"

As she thought that the man in question had already exited the restaurant and was running at full speed in one and only one direction with a single goal set in mind: to meet Rin.


	5. The price of happiness

** Chapter 5**

** The price of happiness**

* * *

~Near Kokonoe's house~

He almost made it. After running so many miles without any pause he was already feeling his feet at that point snapping. When he made it to the gate in front of their house he leaned on it with his right hand, breathing heavily and trying his best not to lose consciousness. He was feeling his lower limbs getting wobbly and shaky although he did not care by this point. He was just glad that he made it to her house in one piece. After running like that he was amazed how he had not been hit by a car or anything.

Aoki: "_Alright. Time to do this!_" he said to himself trying to calm his heartbeats a little although not having that much success at it.

He slowly opened the gate and entered their front yard. Afterwards he presented himself in front of their door with sweat already formed on his forehead and with his body still shaking a little and breathing pretty hard. Nonetheless he knew that he wasn't going to get to look any more presentable than how he was already so it was now or never.

Aoki: "_Here I go….._" and with that he pressed the doorbell while mentally preparing himself for what was to come. Firstly and most importantly he had to get past Rin's guardian and get inside the house even though he was uninvited there. That was a pretty though one.

As he thought that to himself the door suddenly opened and he was greeted by a dark haired young man.

Reiji: "Yes? How may I help yo-…..Aoki-sensei?" he said as he stared at the older man who almost looked like he was going to faint at any point because of exhaustion after that much running. "What are you doing here? And why did you arrive at such a late hour at our house?" he frowned a little letting Aoki know that he wasn't really wanted in that place. Even so, despite all the fatigue built up inside him, with an incredible amount of inner will and energy, the teacher was still able to lift his head and look back with eyes full of determination.

Aoki: "_(pant pant)_ I'm here to see Kokonoe!" he said between breaths trying not to sound too pathetic right now. He knew that he must have looked horrible because of how sweaty and messed up he was but he did not care about that anymore. He just wanted to see Rin.

Reiji: "_(frowning almost to the point of a glare)_ I see…..and may I ask what business you have with her?" that voice of his sounded tainted, almost like he was spitting out venom when saying those words. Aoki couldn't help but scowl at that.

In the past, he and Reiji had never gotten along that well, mostly because of their attraction towards Rin. Since both of them cared for her and wanted to protect her, they eventually ended up suspecting each other of pedophilia and began hating on each other.

Aoki: "I need to see her! That is…before she….!" but he stopped before finishing that sentence, not even capable of saying the most important word of it. Still, it didn't take a genius to figure it out and Reiji got the message.

Reiji: "I see. I thought you two met already in the hospital. Wasn't that enough?" at that Aoki's eyes widened in surprise.

Aoki: "_What? Did Rin tell him about the conversation we had? This is bad. If he knows about that then he should also know that Kokonoe is angry with me. And if that's true….there's no way I'm going to be able to convince him to allow me in!_" as he stared back at the girl's guardian he couldn't help but feel an even more hostile aura around Reiji than ever before. It was almost like the young man was annoyed at even the act of seeing the teacher's face now and that told Aoki that he was against the clock to convince this man before he loses his patience.

Aoki: "Yes, I did. But now I need to see her again! We didn't get to talk too much last time since it was late at night and I couldn't stay in her room for too lon-…"

Reiji: "_(murderous glare)_ That's because the nurse had to throw you out of the room after you've been harassing Rin for several minutes!" he replied angrily to which Aoki could only gaze surprised. So, he did know the details. However, did Kokonoe actually tell him everything?

Reiji: "The nurse told me everything the next day. She told me that Rin's teacher came to see her late at night and began harassing her for some reason, not letting her sleep! She said that despite the girl's pleadings you kept with your persistence and continued to bother her up until the point when she was forced to intervene. May I ask what that was about?" this was dangerous. Aoki felt all of his life leaving him. So, this was how this man interpreted the story? He was scared.

He couldn't really deny any of those although some aspects of the story were exaggerated and antagonized him more than necessarily.

Aoki: "Well, not everything you said was true…." he said a little lowly with an uneasy voice, admitting some of the truth in an embarrassed way while looking away scared, to which the man in front of him got even angrier.

Reiji: "So, you even admit it!?" that was when Reiji slipped and couldn't take it anymore. With an angry look the younger male threw a punch which landed directly on the teacher's face. The older male was thrown back by the impact and fell down the stairs onto the grass of their front yard because of the loss of balance. That was when his glasses fell down as well. "You are not welcome here! I don't know what you want from Rin but you won't get to her while she is in this house! Now go away. I won't ask what you wanted from her that night nor what you want from her today at this same hour either. However, if you won't stop stalking her soon I'm going to make you suffer!" and with that he began clenching his fists. However, Aoki didn't seem to let his will die down as he seemed to continue with his determination.

Aoki: "I know what I did to Rin back then was wrong. Still, that is why I am here tonight! I want to apologize to her now, before she dies. So please, Reiji, please let me see h-…."

Reiji: "You do realize that Rin herself doesn't want to see you anymore, right?" that made him gasp.

Aoki: "Huh?"

Reiji: "She asked me, in case you'd have called our house, to reject your calls. I think that's enough indication to me that she doesn't want to see you again!" Aoki laid there defeated on the grass as he looked below with a sad face.

Aoki: "_Did…Rin really say that?_" his heart ached. He felt like he was on the verge of crying. To hear something like that….he knew he should have expected it but still…it hurt like hell. He didn't know how to respond to that. He only stared sad at the ground beneath him clenching his teeth while being stared upon by the man above him.

Reiji: "I don't know what happened between you and Rin at the hospital or what you two discussed back then since the girl never told me. Still, it's obvious that you hurt her some way or another and she doesn't want to see you anymore. And, because of that, I'll make sure that you won't ever get near her again! Especially not now when she is suffering so much!" he began to approach Aoki slowly while preparing his knuckles. "Now, sensei. There is no more need for your visit here. You should go home now!" even after all that, Aoki didn't seem willing to comply.

Aoki: "Please…..I need to apologize. That's all I want! That's all that matters! Just let me see her ag-….." but before he could even finish that sentence he was picked up by the collar and lifted up in the air. Even though this man was younger than him he still had some impressive strength in him apparently.

Reiji: "I don't think you understand your position very well, sensei. At this moment you are uninvited on my property and that means that you are trespassing. And that gives me the legal freedom of doing whatever I want with you, without being accused of assault if things get ugly!" well, that was nice. He even got threatened by her guardian now. That obviously meant that things weren't really going as planned for him and that it the atmosphere might really heat up soon enough. Aoki didn't know what to do anymore. He knew he was trespassing right now, he knew that he was doing something illegal and that he was about to be beat up because of his actions.

Even so, he couldn't leave. He couldn't leave without telling Rin how he felt about her. Even if he would be beat up to a pulp, even if he would be put in a hospital, even if he would have to suffer a shittone of pain, he would not back down.

Reiji: "Please, sensei. We are mature people. Let us not resolve this with violence. Just leave this place peacefully and I promise I'll forget about everything that you did and won't ever get in your way. There's no need for us to act like savages….." he tried to convince him formally and nicely although that did not change the other man's mind at all.

Aoki: "I…can't…" he said while looking directly into Reiji's eyes with a look of a desperate begging man. "I know that I've been a bad teacher to her….that I've made her suffer numerous times…..and that she most likely wouldn't even want to see my face right now but…I don't want for her to die unhappy…..I don't want her to die while suffering because of me….." he grabbed Reiji's hand. "Please….don't let her die while hating on me! That's all I'm asking…..just…..allow me 5 minutes with her and I'l-…."

Reiji: "Don't screw with me!" he said lowly and with that he threw Aoki on his back on the ground again and began kicking him with his leg. "I don't have time for your pathetic excuses. Rin doesn't want to see you and so you won't see her!" he began hitting him in the stomach while he was on the ground. Reiji tried to be a nice guy and gave him all the warnings he could but if this man would not listen to him at all and still persist on to bother Rin then he had no other choice but to be forceful.

After all that running Aoki was way too exhausted to fight back and so he just took the hits. Even if it hurt like hell he knew he deserved all of them. "Why do you keep stalking Rin so much? Can't you just leave her alone at least now when she's in so much pain?! Why can't you just give up already!? Why are you so persistent in trying to have your way with her?!" and yet another kick. This time it hit just below the man's chest and that's when Aoki felt the air leaving his lungs. He couldn't breathe right now. If things would keep on like this he might even faint here, or worse.

He really doubted that Reiji would have the decency of calling the ambulance after leaving him unconscious. If anything he would rather call the police.

Aoki: "_I guess this is the end. Maybe I really am too late. Maybe I will never get to see Rin after all….._" hit after hit, kick after kick, the older man on the ground was beginning to feel pain all over his body as most of his limbs began to go numb. He knew that he was unable to fight back after this point so he would either be beaten to death or just be sent in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Either way, he would never get to see Rin after all.

Aoki: "_I'm sorry Rin…..for everything I had ever done to you…..I hope one day you will forgive me!_" this time Reiji aimed for his right hand and stepped down on it as hard as he could with his foot making the sound of bones cracking being heard. At that point Aoki couldn't keep his dignity anymore as he let out a small scream because of the intense pain. He felt the bones of that hand crack and that scared him.

Afterwards he began receiving hits even faster from Reiji's foot. The last one to the stomach almost made the teacher vomit although he swallowed it back forcefully. He was not going to last too long anymore.

Reiji kept on beating him, every hit in a different spot of the body than the last. It was almost like he didn't have any intention of hitting him in the same place to send him into unconsciousness. No, he wanted to keep him awake and endure the pain as much as possible to see him suffer.

After some time screams began to be heard as Aoki simply couldn't resist the urge to let his voice be heard from the physical abuse. However, it didn't seem like anyone was hearing him as the number of blows he was receiving began to increase in frequency regularly.

Rin: "STOP!" the young girl shouted from the entrance of the house at the two men on the front yard. "REIJI, what have you done!?" the girl screamed almost in pure shock at the scene right in front of her. She couldn't believe her eyes.

At those words Reiji stopped what he was doing and turned around to look at Rin.

Reiji: "Rin? What are you doing out of bed? You shouldn't walk around like that, remember?" but his question didn't seem to have any effect as the young child ignored him and ran up to the man who was in deep pain on the ground.

Rin: "Aoki-sensei? Aoki-sensei, are you alright? Can you hear me? Say something!" the look of pain and horror was in her eyes as she saw the condition her teacher was in. Seeing her teacher in such a horrible shape….it hurt her. "_This is all my fault! What have I done?_" she lowered her head as tears almost began flowing down her eyes. Now she understood the consequences of her plan. Now she saw what everything had led to.

Rin: "I'm sorry, sensei! If I knew things were going to end like this I never would have done it! I just…wanted you to love me!" she hugged the beaten up man on the ground as Reiji stared at her bewildered.

Reiji: "But….Rin….didn't you say that you didn't want to see him anymore? That's what you said last time we were at the hospital!" but after asking that the girl looked back at him with both a glare and tears in her eyes.

Rin: "I did say that. Demo, that doesn't mean you had to do THIS to him! After hearing so many noises outside the house I decided to get out of bed and come see what's happening. And then I saw you doing this to him. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS, KOUJI!?" she was on the verge of crying. She couldn't take this anymore, especially since she knew that everything was her fault and that people were suffering now because of her.

Aoki looked horrible. All his clothes were covered in mud and dirt after being beaten by a shoe and tossed over on the ground like a football. He had bruises and even cuts which were bleeding on his exposed arms and he seemed to have problems breathing.

Rin: "Sensei, don't leave me! Please! I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!" she was hugging him as tightly as she physically could. It really hurt her seeing him like this. However, after a few moments, two arms wrapped around her as well and returned her hug. She broke the hug in a surprise and looked at his face only to see a warm smile directed at her.

Aoki: "Rin…..Kouji is right….you shouldn't be out of bed. You're sick, remember?" ironically, immediately after that he coughed up blood.

Rin: "Stop saying that! That's not important now! We need to get you to the hospital!" she immediately pulled out her phone and tried to call the emergency number only to have Aoki put his hand over hers.

Aoki: "Don't, Kokonoe. I'm fine right now. Really, I am!" he said while trying to prove his point by standing up but at that moment his legs almost gave in and he went backwards. Luckily for him he there was the gate right behind him and so he quickly pulled out his hand and steadied his balance with it.

Rin: "Don't do that. Look at you! You can't even walk straight!" she went up to him and tried to support his legs.

Aoki: "Arigato, Rin. But…..really…..I'm fine. Just give me a second! _(bloody cough)_" he said finally managing to stand on his two feet although immediately after leaving his support on them he felt intense pain from almost every inch of his body, almost like every muscle inside him was burning in intense fire. Also, he felt the salty taste of blood in his mouth for some reason, probably because of his bloody coughs.

Reiji didn't say anything. He just stared at this whole scene not really sure what to do now. Kokonoe seemed to be crying because of what he had done although he still did not regret it. Moreover, everything he did was for her sake because she was the one who had said she didn't want to see him anymore. So what was the big deal?

Rin: "Can you walk into the house? Are you going to be ok?" she asked worried because of the condition he was in. The man nodded a little before looking up to Reiji who was standing right between them at the house. "_(glaring)_ Reiji, let him in!" she said between sobs while looking furiously at him. The man, confused beyond belief only nodded as he moved aside and allowed Aoki supported by Rin to walk inside.

He didn't really understand Rin's sudden change of mood although he had to agree that he might have gone a little too far. Then again, that was to be expected after meeting such persistence from that stubborn teacher.

Nonetheless Reiji just sighed and decided to just leave things in Rin's hands for now and see how things will evolve while just spectating for now.

* * *

Huh, I honestly did not expect for this story to be so long. Honestly, when I began this chapter I was planning to just brush off Aoki's and Reiji's confrontation and just make it a couple of paragraphs although for some reason my hands began writing on their own and made it a lot longer .

In any case if nothing gets in the way yet again then this story will be finished quite soon. I have only one more chapter planned, although I might extend it to two if need be. Either way this story is almost finished.

To Taromaru: I like the idea but I have to admit it never really crossed my mind. Although the concept of Rin actually having cancer for real has the potential for good drama, that's definitely not the outcome I've been planning for this story. Even though I did add more drama than needed to this story I won't go that far. And as for the ending…..well….I guess you'll have to wait and see it for yourself. Don't want to spoil anything but I'll say that I'll try to make the atmosphere of my ending as close to the original anime's mood as possible. You'll see!


	6. Revealed feelings

**Chapter 6**

**Revealed feelings**

~Rin's house~

Everything seemed to have calmed down a little. After all that experience it seemed that Reiji had cooled a little and had ceased to do anything unnecessary anymore. Actually, he had even apologized for what he had done to Aoki but only after some long sessions of convincing from Rin's part.

The teacher didn't say anything and just stood there while drinking his tea and continued to watch the two siblings get along together. The warm tea seemed to have helped him a little bit as his body began to stop aching whenever he would move. Still, the bruises were still there and he knew that if anyone would just poke him at any time anywhere on his body he would most likely jump from the pain like a poor victim on the beach who stayed too long in the sun without suntan.

After that chat everyone moved to Rin's room because of Reiji's continuous pleadings to get her back in bed. And there, while the atmosphere wasn't as hostile as it had been 30 minutes ago, the occasional subtle glares which Reiji would throw at the teacher every once in a while assured a silent and mostly awkward atmosphere between the two.

After a couple of minutes of idle talk between Kokonoe and her guardian, the former realized that Aoki had not spoken almost any word since he had entered the house and so she decided to find out the real reason for his visit.

Rin: "So, sensei. Why are you here?" she didn't really want to talk to him right now, especially since she had been avoiding doing just that for the past couple of days but after what Reiji had done to him she felt indebted to at least have a normal conversation with him and then apologize again later on her guardian's behalf for what had happened.

Aoki: "Well, the truth is that I thought about what you said to me at the hospital that day. And, you se-…." he tried to say before he was cut off by her.

Rin: "Ah…about that? Uh, Reiji, would you be so kind and give us a little time alone please?" she asked the younger male in that room only to receive a disapproving look from him.

Reiji: "Rin…..I don't think that's such a good idea. I mean, you can't expect me to leave you alone with this man in this room, can you?" although he had allowed the man in the house that was only because of Rin's own request. However, he would never even think of leaving this man alone with Rin like that.

Rin: "_(sigh)_ He is my teacher. He's not going to do anything!" Aoki couldn't help but feel small waves of chills passing through his spine after hearing this conversation. It was almost like they didn't even care that he was there with them.

Reiji: "Even with that, Rin, I can't trust him enough to allow something lik-….."

Rin: "Onegai!" she pleaded to him suddenly in a very sweet voice. "Please, Reiji. Just allow me to have one last chat with my teacher alone. I know I was the one that didn't want to talk to him a couple of days ago but I think after what he has gone through today he deserves to at least be heard out. So, can you please just give us some privacy? Once we'll be done I'll call you, ok?"

He didn't like the idea of that. Not even one single bit. This sounded like a terrible decision to him. Still, when looking into those cute innocent and pleading eyes of hers he couldn't help himself at all as he felt all his willpower and confidence being sucked away and leaving him completely vulnerable.

Reiji: "_(sigh) _Uh, fine! I'll leave you two alone for now! However, I'll come check on you two every once in a while just to make sure that everything is ok. Also, if he does anything…"

Rin: "I'll scream as hard as I can and let you handle things from there. Got it!" this conversation was really making the poor teacher feel unwelcome and uncomfortable. Actually, just by the looks of it he was pretty sure that they even wanted him to be hearing what they were discussing right now.

Reiji: "Ok then. See you later, Rin!" he said as he approached her forehead and kissed it. Afterwards he just turned back around and looked at Aoki who was standing on a chair right next to her bed like him.

With his head turned so that Rin couldn't see his face, Reiji made probably the scariest and most disturbing face Aoki had ever seen in his entire life. It was so creepy that he felt like he had seen a serial killer staring him down. He almost wet himself.

After seeing that reaction Reiji just huffed, got on his feet and exited the room quietly leaving behind a puzzled young child and a traumatized adult.

Aoki: "_This is why I always hate coming to this house….._" he mentally thought to himself before returning his gaze at the girl on the bed.

Rin: "So, sensei. What happened? You don't usually visit me that often!" she too had adopted a serious face, this time a lot less sweet almost like she had suddenly dropped a façade for some reason.

Aoki: "Uh…..well…I….I guess I was just…" he stopped for a second when he realized that he had not planned what to say to her. He really hated himself sometimes. "….passing by your house and decided to make a visit since I was here anyway! _God kill me!_" he knew that was probably the most retarded excuse he could ever have come up with and the fact that even this 10 year old child raised her eyebrows in disbelief almost like trying to scold him for not trying enough didn't help at all.

Aoki: "Huh, that didn't really work, did it?" this was becoming comical since he didn't even know the reason why he was stalling or trying to lie to her. He knew that his goal was to tell her the truth sooner or later so there was really no point in trying to make up excuses now.

Rin: "No…." obviously it didn't work. He was running out of time. He knew very well that this girl wasn't in the mood to talk to him and that he was quickly eating away on her patients. It wouldn't take her more than a few shouts and he would be thrown out of this house in just a split second. Not that Rin would do such a thing to him but he knew that he didn't have too much time and that he should react quickly.

Aoki: "Rin….." he began a new sentence now trying to summon the courage necessary to confess the reason why he was there. He didn't know how to cope with this sudden change of the atmosphere. "I…." he stammered. He really wanted to let her know how he truly felt about her. Normally he would have just tried to say it in an indirect way or something but after all the pain he had gone through these last couple of hours he just didn't have the patience to do that anymore.

Seeing that Reiji was not there anymore, he saw this as an opportunity to finally do that. Before Rin could even know it two arms wrapped around her small fragile body as the young adult who had been standing in front of her closed in the gap between them as much as he could and squeezed her hard enough to push all the air out of her.

Aoki: "I'm sorry, Kokonoe!" he said while pressing his pupils and holding her almost like he was afraid that letting her go would lead to her death. "I know I have been a bad teacher all this time, saying things I shouldn't have and doing things which hurt you. I know that I made a lot of inexcusable mistakes and made you hate me…." he made a brief pause while trying to sort his thoughts out "…..and I want to apologize for all of them. I know that this is asking for much but…I'm sorry for everything, Kokonoe…..I truly am!"

The girl just stood there, in complete shock at this new attitude of his. She had no idea how to reply to that. She honestly had not seen that coming.

Rin: "Sensei…." she responded by closing his body in an embrace of her own as well. Being between his big strong arms made her feel at ease and almost all the depression she had gone through these last few days seemed to have dissipated once he gave her affection, especially in this sudden approach.

Aoki: "I know I'm a despicable teacher for not even bothering to look up on your condition after you got hospitalized…or for saying things which hurt you. But…..in the end…I want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you!" he confessed while currently pouring out his heart to her. His best friend had told him to be sincere with his feelings for her and so that was what he was going to do.

Aoki: "I'm sorry. Please, forgive me!" she had no idea what was with this sudden change of mood from his part. It's pretty clear that he had gone through a lot these past couple of days. Did he suffer so much after that day at the hospital? She couldn't imagine something so drastic as to change him this much.

Rin: "It's ok, sensei. I forgive you. I'm just sorry for what happened to you today. Did you really come all the way here just to say that to me?" she asked still a little in disbelief at his actions. The Aoki-sensei she had known was a cool and calculated teacher who would always avoid doing anything too rash or reckless. For him to come see her at these unusual late hours both at the hospital and now at her own house, to receive that beating and so many other things just to apologize to her…she was baffled. What had gotten into him? It wasn't like she minded the attention but she just couldn't explain any of this.

Aoki: "Yes, I did. I couldn't have let you die without letting you know how I feel about you, Kokonoe!" he said making the girl even more confused than before. Now she really had no idea what was happening. What had happened to Aoki for him to become this serious about their relationship? What had changed him so much?

At any rate though, this seemed to be a perfect opportunity to extract from him the words she had wanted to hear for such a long time.

Rin: "And what are your feelings for me, sensei?" she asked after seeing that he was finally honest right now.

Her teacher gulped, his throat getting sore all of a sudden for some reason. This was it. This was the moment where he had to prove he was a man. He knew he couldn't evade the question anymore, nor could he lie to Kokonoe in such a serious and critical moment. For all he knew she could die at any point now so this was the moment to strike. He didn't had the time to linger any longer and beat about the bush. It was now or never.

Aoki: "Well, the truth is, Kokonoe, that you are a very important student to me…..You have always been very nice to me….nice in your own ways that is…." he tried to measure every word exiting his mouth to make sure that he would not make her mad anymore and commit any mistakes again. "Although you made me more problems than any other student in my class, although you've always caused conflicts between me and my colleagues and complicated my life so many times, and although you've sexually assaulted me several times in the past…." at that she just smirked at him although her smile quickly became innocent afterwards as she continued to listen with very much interest every syllable he spoke. "….in the end, you were the one who made me realize many important things. And those things are that a teacher's path is horrendous most of the times. Evolving in your career as a teacher is a treacherous, very tiring journey" and with that he moved his hands to his glasses and took them off his eyes for a second while looking directly in her eyes.

"However, there are rewards. And although the rewards aren't always that great or significant, sometimes the small rewards are the best ones!" he said that while putting his hand over her head in a parental way.

Aoki: "I'm glad I met someone like you, Kokonoe. You have always been a problem student, but at the same time you were the one who showed me that being a teacher is worth it after all simply because I got to meet people like Kokonoe and her friends. I guess I've learned many things from you. It seems that even teachers can learn from their students…" then he put his glasses back on after rubbing his tired eyes. "In the end, Kokonoe, I guess you have become a friend to me, and a very close one….."

Those words were touching although it made Rin a little sad. She could tell just from his voice that he had been sincere and that depressed her since that meant her relationship with him wasn't as evolved as she had expected it to be. This wasn't the type of confession she had expected to receive, especially not after all the hard work she had put into this plan but at this point she was happy with just this even. She was happy that he had finally opened up to her after all.

Rin: "_(whispering) _A friend…huh?" apparently she had to be satisfied with just that. It wasn't that great but it seemed like this man did not want to go any further than that. Then again, now that she thought about it he had all the right to do that. After this plan of hers she had learned that trying to force people into loving you was just wrong. Although she had feelings for him she also needed to take into consideration his feelings as well. If he was not interested in romance then she just had to accept that. Being in an one-sided love with someone doesn't mean you have to force them to love you back, it means accepting their feelings no matter what they are and respecting them. This is what true love meant and now she had to cope with it.

Rin: "_(with a sad but contented voice) _I see. Well then sensei, I'm happy that you feel that w-…"

Aoki: "However, I guess I ended up going even farther than that….." he suddenly spoke out all of a sudden forcing her eyes onto him yet again.

Rin: "Huh?" she quirked her ears curious.

Aoki closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He couldn't believe what he was about to confess. He knew it was wrong, he knew that she would win this seduction game she had been playing with him for the last year if he even muttered the following words but….in the end, he decided that she deserved to hear him say this now that her life was about to end.

Aoki: "After you took my first kiss….I got confused about our relationship. I didn't know what to think about it and so I eventually gotten scared that we might go somewhere where no relationship between a teacher and his student should be. That's why I decided to ignore you at first…to try to ignore your flirting and everything" she couldn't believe this. This was the first time he had ever talked to her about these things. She could feel her heart beginning to race madly all of a sudden as the atmosphere began to grow tense for some reason.

Rin: "Sensei….."

Aoki: "At first I thought that was a good idea but…..in the end I ended up hurting you. And sadly I continued to do so up until our last meeting at the hospital. I've said many words which I shouldn't have and…..honestly…..I think if you wouldn't have snapped at me back then like the way you did I never would have learned either. I guess what I'm trying to say is that all this time I've been trying to hide my feelings for you but…..that was because I knew we couldn't be together. I always thought that a student being in love with his teacher was wrong and that should not be accepted. That's why I've been trying to discourage you from that….."

Rin: "_(with an unreadable face) _And you still believe that?"

Aoki: "No….." that answer took her by surprise as he shattered her expectations all of a sudden.

Aoki: "I used to think that. However, when trying to discourage you I ended up only hurting you. That was when I understood that you cannot choose who you love. Your heart does it for you! It doesn't matter what others think about your relationship with someone else. The only thing that truly matters is for both you and your partner to be happy!" he placed his hand on her small cheek as she stared at him in puzzlement while she cursed her heart for tormenting her chest with its incessant beatings.

Rin: "Aoki…?" even her cheeks began to blush. This was…..the first love confession she had ever received in her life. And even though this was taking place right in front of her very eyes she still was not able to believe that this was her teacher.

Aoki: "I realized that all the times when I've rejected you happened just because of me wanting not to risk my job and my humanity by doing…_(he looked away awkwardly while making a long pause)_…mature things to a young girl like yourself. Still, in the end I neglected your feelings for me when doing that and I ended up hurting the person whom I care the most…" her small eyes were fixated on him, calmly analyzing every single feature on his face. She was practically staring into his soul.

Aoki: "And…eventually….after realizing how much I hurt you I realized something else as well: how much I cared for you, how much I wanted you and how much I regretted hurting you. I really am sorry for all the pain I caused you and….in the end…what I wanted to tell you….was that…uh…Kokonoe…..no…..Rin…" she shuddered. Something changed in the air. She felt her heart beating like crazy right now as he opened his eyes while expressing a soft but warm smile at her.

Aoki: "Rin….I….love you!"

Silence. Neither said anything. They were both paralyzed. The girl stood there, petrified at words she had never thought she would have heard for the rest of her life, at least not anywhere outside her dreams. After all the suffering…..after all her hard work…after everything…it was worth it. Even if this was what she had planned up until now she had never actually expected for her plan to actually work.

As he stood there with a confident face waiting an answer he suddenly noticed tears rolling down her cheeks as a smile appeared on her as well.

Aoki: "_(suddenly scared)_ Ko-Kokonoe?!"

Rin: "_(sob sob)_ Sensei, why did it took you so long to say that?" she jumped on him once again as she began to cry as hard as she could. She buried her face in his chest in a desperate and pathetic attempt to hide her crying from him although she knew very well that she was only making it worse. Still, after all the abstinence she had to endure these past weeks receiving comfort from her *now official* lover, and comfort to this extent, was just overwhelming. She was currently overflowing with happiness.

This was a dream. This had to be a dream. It was just…..too beautiful not to be. She couldn't stop crying.

After all the stress she had been under all this time she was relieved to finally hear her lover say that.

The man stood there with a warm smile patting her back and hugging her in a very caring way.

Aoki: "Rin…" he was happy. For some reason he felt genuinely happy right now, almost like he had lifted a rock off his heart. It seemed like Hōin was right after all. Being honest really was the best way!

The girl kept crying, sobbing and spilling her heart out as she began digging her nails in his back just because of the impact his words had had on her.

Rin: "Sensei, I love you too. I love you soo much! I…..I'm really glad you feel the same way!" this was indeed heaven, for both of them. Enjoying each other's warmth, feeling each other's intense and rapid heartbeats against each other, and just sharing each other's love and tender touches. It was perfect.

It took a couple of minutes in that position but eventually the girl's sobbing stopped and she didn't spill anymore water from her eyes. However, not even then did any of them seem to be willing to part their strong embrace. Neither was feeling the need to perturb their happiness until Rin decided to break the silence a little.

Rin: "Sensei, you're so warm and soft!" she muttered in his ear sweetly. The man did not respond and just stroke her hair a few times.

Then, the girl, against all the will in her body and heart, pushed herself back leaving his arms and making him look at her wonderingly.

Rin: "Sensei…." she buckled her lips and positioned her head just a couple of centimeters in front of his. However, she did not make any further movement and just waited for him.

Unlike their previous kisses when she forced her mouth onto his when he was least expecting it, this time that was not the case. He had said he loved her and she wanted him to prove it. She wouldn't force anything on him anymore. She wanted to see him start having initiative as well and see if he had been honest or not about the confession.

In order to prove his confession he had to finish this and kiss her. Now that she didn't kiss him and was waiting for him that meant that he had to do it with his own consent.

However, that also meant he himself had to break the final line. Up until then she had always been the one who did everything in their relationship and so he still had the excuse of being forced into everything. But….once he will touch her mouth on his own consent…..that will mean that he would be returning his feelings and would condemn his soul to Satan for willingly doing something like this to a child.

Aoki: "_Still…if it's for Kokonoe…..I'm willing to sacrifice myself for the rest of eternity to hell. If that's what will make her happy then it's worth it!_" and so he did it. He closed his eyes, squeezing them as much as possible in the process and went for the kiss. He connected his lips to hers all of a sudden finally locking the boundaries of their relationship and defining their romantic bond.

Kokonoe couldn't help but squeal mentally at this unexpected turn of events and the completion of her plan. This was just….incredible.

Not only did he confess to her but he actually willingly kissed her as well. He had finally returned her feelings. This was, undoubtedly, the best day of her life.

Her teacher didn't want to go too far and so he reduced himself to just brushing his lips against her own although, after half-a-minute, the girl seemed to want more as she pushed her tongue and licked his lips asking for permission to enter his mouth. The man shivered a little at the thought but soon he subsided to the pleasure and parted his lips slightly for her to enter it. This felt so good but at the same time so weird.

As he felt her do that almost every cell in his brain began to scream in wonder at this unusual feeling of having her intrude his mouth.

Aoki: "_Kokonoe….you're being so bold…_" he thought as she began playing around his tongue like a snake inviting a partner to a mating dance. At that point he lost control. His brain lost control as his tongue developed a mind of its own and responded to the teasing.

They began to play in his mouth, she, like any child, beginning to enjoy both this game and the pleasure emanating from it and he, just wondering how far they would go and cringing in fear at the thought of what might happen in the near future and where this kiss might lead to.

She eventually pulled her tongue back a little and parted her own lips while licking his teeth as an invitation for him to join in and play in her mouth as well. She wanted to give him an unforgettable experience but to do that she needed him to enjoy her too.

He was reluctant at first but after some time he decided to give in and squeezed his own tongue between her lips.

However, once inside he did not know what to do and just began to explore it. This felt…unusual. Her mouth was so sweet….almost like it was coated in sugar. Her, being a young child, he guessed that she would eat pretty often cookies and sweets all the time so that might explain it.

They intertwined their tongues afterwards, neither seeming willing to give up and both playing with each other. This was almost like a child's game which made it look like it was her territory although for some reason he couldn't help but allow himself to submerge into this strange activity. It was fun, it was stimulating and it was goddamn pleasurable as hell.

They continued to play like that for a couple of minutes. How many? Neither of them knew although that was the least of their concerns right now. Once Aoki's tongue got tired a little from this exercise he pulled his mouth away from hers making her retreat as well.

Aoki: "Kokonoe…..your mouth is sweet!" he said as she blushed a little.

Rin: "Huh? Ah, well, yours was too, sensei!"

Aoki: "No, not like that. I mean…..it was really sweet. You ate sugar?" his face was slightly red after wording that phrase.

Rin: "Ah…..well….I did eat pancakes a couples of hours ago! Did you like it?" she licked her lips seductively after saying that making him stare a little almost like he had been bewitched by her flirting all of a sudden. It seemed that his defenses which he had been building up all that time at school against her sexual offers had been decimated once she managed to kiss him. His immunity against her flirting had disappeared all of a sudden and he had been left defenseless against her. He was seduced and he knew it already. Seduced by a 10 year old girl.

Aoki: "Ah…..um….yeah. They were, uh…..delicious!" he looked away while blushing. He couldn't believe how easily manipulated he was by this child.

Rin: "_(giggling) _Sensei, you're really cute when you're blushing like that!" she commented before giving in to the temptation and going for another kiss. She really was energetic tonight, apparently. Not that he complained.

These were his first kisses she was stealing and for some reason he didn't mind giving them to her anymore. As long as that would satisfy her lust then he was happy.

The girl didn't restrain herself at all as she continued to play with his tongue and moved her hands towards his head. Once there she placed them on his glasses and removed them, slowly stationing them on the nearby desk. He did not respond as he was too busy trying to keep up with the girl's energetic nature. She was quickly gaining dominance even in his own mouth.

If she was this energetic and dominant even with her tongue then he did not want to know how she was in bed.

Aoki: "_AAAAAHHHHHH! Don't think of that! This is not healthy!_" he thought to himself while shaking his head violently trying to push away those profane thoughts.

Rin: "Huh? Sensei, what's wrong?" she pulled out of his mouth and stared a little bit puzzled at him which made the man blush even further.

Aoki: "Ah, nothing, nothing! Everything is fine!" he nervously laughed while she just continued to gaze confused back at him. Well, she decided to just brush it off since there were more important matters which she needed to take care of. As they shared another short kisses in which she just grazed his lips lightly to tease him she placed her hands on his shirt and pulled him off his chair in bed with her.

Aoki: "Kokonoe!" he almost screamed but to no avail. The young female was far from over as she went for his ears. When he felt her breath near his ear though he instinctively moved his head away, afraid from her teeth. Those awful nightmares he had had after being bitten by her still lingered at the back of his mind.

Rin: "Uh, sensei?" she stared at him with a baffled look once again before that certain memory popped up in her head as well when she saw him covering his hears like a scared madman looking at a carnivorous beast. "Ah…..is it about that?" she looked away embarrassed a little as that certain memory flashed before her eyes.

Aoki: "Kokonoe, I don't think this is such a good idea. Maybe we should jus-…" but he was interrupted pretty soon as she approached him and moved one of his hands aside exposing his ear once again to her. "Oi, Kokonoe!" despite his disagreeing face the girl did not stop from her actions and tried to persuade him into allowing her to do that.

Rin: "_(whispering) _Please, sensei. I'll be gentle this time, I promise!" her warm and moist breath on the skin of his ears made him shiver slightly. He was terrified. Last time he had allowed her to do that she had bitten him so hard he had to bandage that part of his body.

Aoki: "De-demo-….." but she pecked his ear before he could continue.

Rin: "_(whispering) _O….ne…..gai…." at that he calmed himself down and did not complain anymore, giving her permission to do whatever she wanted. He was obviously reluctant about this but he figured that he would have to trust her if he was planning to at least make a credible performance of actually loving her tonight. Not that he did not love her. He actually had genuine feelings for her. It was just the fact that he was still new to this whole relationship thingy.

After being green lit the girl began seductively licking the back of his ear with much passion. The wet small tongue brushing that sensitive ticklish part of his body made him aware once again that he was a full grown male currently standing alone in the same room, in the same bed with a female. And although she was less than half his age, he could not help himself when his body began reacting to the stimulation.

Aoki: "K-Kokonoe…..we should seriously stop. This is getting out of hand!" he tried to say but she did not obey as she continued to do her work on his ear. "Kokonoe!" but, just to silence him, she lightly bit his earlobe, not hard enough to hurt him or anything but enough to suggest to him that she was not interested in stopping any time soon. She began massaging the earlobe between her teeth carefully as the man was suppressing the urge to scream like a little child.

Despite this the more she was squeezing and the more aggressive she was becoming the more he felt his lower member growing. He couldn't believe how talented she was at such things. She, a 10 year old child, knew more about this stuff than he did.

Still, he couldn't force himself to stop her. It was obvious that the girl was doing her best to arouse him and despite the situation he enjoyed everything very much. He knew that she was trying to arouse him for a purpose and he also knew that he didn't even want to think about that purpose or he would most likely panic. Because of that he refrained from thinking about such things and just decided to shutoff his brain temporarily and just go with the flow for now.

This was the first time any woman did that to him. And despite her age, he could have sworn that she was actually very talented at this.

However, after being in the act for a while the young woman suddenly stopped doing what she was doing and parted her lips from his ear.

Aoki: "Huh?" he wondered what had happened as she started to whisper once again into his ear.

Rin: "Sensei….will you wait for me?" she asked completely out of nowhere. The man had no idea what she was talking about until she continued and explained. "Will you…..marry me, sensei?" her voice was sad for some reason, almost like she was on the verge of crying. It was like a desperate plea, something which she was almost begging for.

He had no idea what to answer. He knew very well that they had no time for that. This girl was supposed to die in just a couple of days. Marriage was most definitely impossible.

Aoki: "Kokono-….."

Rin: "Call me Rin, onegai!" she suddenly interrupted him.

Aoki: "Rin…..I really wish I could do that….." he suddenly pulled her from behind his back and pushed her onto his lap as he placed his hand over her head once again in a comforting way as she turned around to stare at him. "Believe me, I really wish I could do that. But…..Rin…you know that it's impossible, right?"

Rin: "Why?" she whined in a girly manner to his response. "Sensei, that's not fair! You said you loved me, right? Aren't two people who love each other supposed to marry?" her being almost on the verge of crying was breaking his heart.

Aoki: "It's not about that…Rin. It's because of something else….." he diverted his eyes from her, not wanting her to witness his sorrow and sadness.

Rin: "Then why? Why can't we be together? You said that you didn't care anymore if I'm your stude-….."

Aoki: "It's because of your condition!" she halted when hearing those words as he lowered his head after saying that, almost like he regretted speaking that way. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, especially not tonight. However, he had to be sincere with her and, as such, he knew he had to tell her the truth, no matter how hard it hurt. "You said you will die in a couple of days, didn't you? I really wish I could prevent that, Rin. We don't have enough time to arrange for a marriage. Besides, you'd have to be at least 16 for me to marry you. If you'll die so soon obviously you'll never reach that age. If there was any way I could save you, any way at all I w-….."

Rin: "Then, if I will live and get pasted the next week unharmed and if I'll live until the age of 16, will you marry me then?" she suddenly looked at him with eyes which were full of hope and enthusiasm, something not that uncommon from the look any little girl would throw at her parents when they're going over the shopping list for Christmas presents. She was almost begging him to accept her offer.

Little did Aoki know that that was a serious slip from her part and that he should have noticed the trap. If he paid attention at her sudden reaction then he would have realized that something was wrong with that offer. However, he misunderstood her mistake for desperation when he thought that she was just a child making himself false hopes that he would get past his condition.

Aoki: "_I guess that when kids are told to lose all hope in science they just resort to praying for miracles. She really wants to be with me no matter what although she does know that she's never going to live that long. She's just making herself false hope…then again…..that's actually a good thing in a way…_" he sighed. She seemed to be clinging to whatever miracle she could come up with and that was making him even sadder.

He didn't know if he was supposed to bring her feet back on Earth and tell her the truth about that never going to happen or just blindly support her hopes to make sure she would die happy, even though she would be delusional until the very end that way.

Aoki: "Rin…..you know that miracles don't just happen like that all of a sudden. The chances of you actually surviving past the next we-…" he couldn't finish that sentence. She seemed to be on the verge of crying. She was sitting on his lap with a desperate look on her face, practically imploring him to reconsider his words.

Aoki: "_I see…..this isn't about being honest after all. Maybe I should support her after all. That's what she wants from me. Even if it's like lying to her…if it'll make her feel better then it's worth it!_"

~Flashback~

_Kuro: "What?! Do you want me to spell it out for you?! Fine then! You need to go to her house and say what she wants to hear from you!"_

~End of flashback~

Aoki: "_Say what she wants me to say….huh? Even if it's just giving her mindless hope for nothing I guess as long as it's hope then it's good enough for a child…_ Yes, I promise!" he suddenly said after contemplating for a little while. That took the girl by surprise.

Rin: "Huh?"

Aoki: "If you will live past the next week, Rin, then I promise I will marry you! I'll wait for you to grow up to become 16 and then I will officially do it!" he tried to support her delusions in an attempt to make her feel better like any responsible teacher would do.

Little did he know that he had practically cursed himself for the rest of his life with just those words. After saying that a sudden dark and creepy aura formed around Rin as the whole air in the chamber suddenly got cold for some reason.

Rin: "_(smiling mischievously) _You promise? No matter what will happen or what you will find out later on?" this was weird, he could feel it.

Aoki: "Ah…..yes…..I promise!"

Rin: "Will you really marry me?! Really!?" she was ecstatic. She never thought her teacher would actually agree to this.

Aoki just stood there scratching the back of his head awkwardly. He noticed it. He could tell that something wasn't right with this scene and that was scaring him. He felt it like he was being led into a trap but he did not know what the trap was.

Aoki: "_Don't worry. She's just hoping for a miracle right now….She'll die anyway eventually in a couple of days so whatever you will say to her now won't ever matter! Just say things which will make her happy, that's all that counts! _Yes, I promise. I will! In the meantime I'll also save up money to buy ourselves our own house, buy you a ring an-….."

Rin: "YEEESSSSS!" she practically jumped on him after hearing that. The sheer amount of happiness and energy which radiated from her after hearing his response was enough to scare the shit out of him.

Aoki: "_Why do I get the feeling that I said something which I will regret for the rest of my life?_" little did he know that he was just being played by her.

Rin: "Sensei, you're not joking right now, are you? Remember, you promised. No matter what happens after today, if I won't die then you will marry me, right?"

Aoki: "H-hai. I will! I promise!"

Rin: "You won't betray your promise no matter what, right?"

Aoki: "O-of course not! Responsible adults never betray their words!" if he only knew what he was talking about he would have punched himself in the face right then and there.

Rin: "_Sensei…now you're all mine!_" she mentally noted as the strange aura around her took a demonic feel. Aoki was shivering by this point.

Aoki: "_This feels so wrong for some reason…._" but just as he thought that Rin began to hug and squeeze him.

Rin: "Sensei, we'll be so happy together! We'll be the happiest couple which ever lived. I want a big house with many rooms for our future kids. It should be spacious and comfy but also not too expensive. I wouldn't mind having a nice emerald ring since I like green very much. Ah, I also want a king sized bed in our bedroom. It should be big and sturdy since we'll be making love in it every night!" this was scary. He was officially trembling as the leech girl kept clinging to him like a parasite. He really couldn't explain the sudden boost in her joy meter.

Aoki: "Rin! Calm down! You're making too much noise!" he tried to hush her. However, soon after that she left his embrace as her dark aura suddenly left her completely as she gained an innocent look yet again.

Rin: "Then, I'll have to repay you!" she said as she pressed him down on the bed with her on top of him in a dominant way.

Aoki: "R-Rin…what are you doing!?" that was when he realized that the situation was out of his control. She suddenly moved her hand to his shirt and began to unbutton it.

Rin: "You'll wait that long just for me to grow up so you can marry me, right? I can't let you wait for such a long time without a compensation!"

Aoki: "Wh-what are you trying to say?!"

Rin: "Sensei, you don't know it yet but after agreeing to marry me we already became a couple now! And now it's time for me to prove to you that I can be a good wife!" this was out of the realms of decency anymore. He felt paralyzed as she kept undoing his clothes. He was at a loss now. He knew that as a responsible adult he had to stop her before things would get too dangerous. However he also knew that if he did that he would break his own promise and not grant her her final wishes. He was pretty much handcuffed right now.

Aoki: "_Lord, what have I done?_"

* * *

Why? WHY DO I KEEP WRITING MORE THAN IT IS NECESARRY?! Well, fuck this. Another chapter next! That one is the final one, I promise. Man, I'm really making this shit way too long for some reason….I just can't stop writing already JESUS! Eh well, hope you enjoyed it.


	7. Immaturity

**Chapter 7**

**Immaturity**

~Rin's room~

He was frozen in place. His mind was running rampant right now as every single neuron in his brain was screaming at him to do something. He just didn't know what.

The child right next to him eventually finished unbuttoning his shirt and then she pulled it off of him. He tried to resist it but soon he found himself incapable of doing even that. His mind just didn't want to defy Rin's wishes. He had promised himself not to go against her will anymore and just because of that he was caught in a precarious situation. The only thing keeping him from stopping her was his wish to make her happy tonight. Still, he was well aware of where she wanted them to go and that scared him.

Aoki: "Rin….this is a bad idea. We shouldn't be doing this!" he told her in a very concerned voice. Knowing that he was unable to stop her forcefully anymore the only thing he could do now was to persuade her to cease her actions. "Listen to me, you don't understand! This is not something which kids should be do-…"

Rin: "Huh? Why?" she asked as she placed his shirt on a nearby chair before taking in the view of his naked chest. "_Hmm, he doesn't look that bad!_ I thought you said you loved me, didn't you?" she was using her cards well and he knew getting out of this was not going to be easy.

Aoki: "W-well…I….I did say that. However….this isn't…..I mean….uh…" in all honesty he wasn't so sure why he was so much against the idea of allowing this to continue. He knew that it was a hopeless cause since this is what the girl had been wanting to do for such a long time but he kept trying to stop this from happening. Now…..she finally got his consent and this meant that unless he would persuade her to stop….there was no way he could prevent any of her wishes from happening.

Rin stared at him for a couple of seconds like trying to think and analyze what he had said to her earlier. However, that didn't last too long and soon afterwards she began smiling at him as she began to undo her pajamas.

Rin: "Sensei, why are you so scared? Is it because you're afraid of losing your virginity?" he instinctively cringed at that. "Are you scared because this is going to be your first time?" he couldn't respond to that. Mostly because even he didn't know the answer. Actually, he couldn't even explain this fear inside him. Was it the fear of him being about to do something despicable to this young girl and him falling into the pits of sin and pleasure and potentially becoming a pedophile later on or was it because of the fact that he was a virgin and was afraid of sex?

He didn't know the answer to that question. He couldn't explain the reason why he was so reluctant….no …..so scared of the thought of what they were about to do.

Aoki: "No….it's not that! It's just that…..I…" he was looking away embarrassed not even sure how he was supposed to answer to that. But as he was trying to find his words she placed her hand under his chin to bring his face on the same level as hers.

Rin: "Don't worry, sensei. I'll be gentle, I promise!" he couldn't even tell if she was just trying to be supportive anymore or was just making fun of him. But before he could say anything else she kissed him lightly on the lips piercing through all of his defenses and breaking all his will almost instantaneously. That was the point when he knew he had lost it. There was no way he could contain himself anymore. He knew it wasn't right….he knew this could not possibly lead them anywhere good…..but…..he had been bewitched and there was no way he could escape her now.

After skillfully playing with his lips with her tongue she pulled back and threw him a gentle but sweet and seducing look.

Rin: "Leave it all to me! You'll just need to relax!" after having all his resistance shattered like a glass window being broken by an incoming tank passing through it, he was left with his eyes only half open almost like he was in a trance and with a sleepy voice.

Aoki: "But….what about Reiji? He said he was going to come check up on us! If he walks in on us…..it'll be the end of my life…." that was the final excuse he could come up with to make her stop. It was a final desperate attempt at making her change her mind. However, just looking in the girl's eyes he could see her determination burning inside of her. At that point he had realized how much this girl really wanted him. There was no way he could steer her anymore. She was going to do this no matter what.

However, only after then did he noticed that she was standing right on top of him with her top also exposed to him as well. Apparently while he was spacing out she had taken the liberty of undressing.

Aoki: "_W-when did she drop her pajamas!?_" he probably should have paid more attention to this whole scene. He immediately blushed and turned his eyes away from her.

Without her pajamas on she looked even smaller and more fragile than before. She wasn't fat, nor was she skinny. She was just the way any little girl of her age should look like. Her breasts were small although that's to be expected from someone as young as her. Her skin was not too pale neither was it too dark either and the rest is kind of average mostly. She was the perfect embodiment of any female still in her growing stage: she looked healthy and in physical development although there wasn't anything attractive about her. Not that he was expecting to see giant boobs or anything.

Rin: "Then we'll have to be quick! I don't think that's going to be a problem though!" little did he know that that was actually a hint at him being a virgin and most probably not going to last too long. However, he obviously did not get it.

Aoki: "B-but what if he hears us!? He's right in the room beneath us, isn't he!? Wouldn't he be able to hear all the noise if he's on the ground floor?" he was basically panicking right now. Seeing this little child sitting on top of him staring at him with those seductive eyes while also being topless was just too much for him. He was trying to find any excuse possible to make her stop. Even so this was nothing more than desperation by this point.

Rin: "Then we'll have to be quiet! Don't worry, if things will get loud then I'll just kiss you and keep your mouth busy!" she licked her lips and threw another enchanting look at him.

Aoki: "_What…have I gotten myself into!?_" he didn't know anymore what was right and what was wrong.

He wondered if he should just calm down, do things her way and let her just take his virginity already or if he should simply scream for help right now and expect to be punished by Reiji who should save/kill him.

Rin: "Sensei…" she whispered all of a sudden as she kissed his neck delicately before moving her hand to his crotch to stimulate it. He was quickly losing ground. The touch of her wet mouth on that thin and sensitive skin was arousing enough but having her play with his groin intentionally to arouse him was just too much to take. His body couldn't help itself.

Aoki: "_I'm going to lose this game, won't I? There's no way I can win anymore…._" he thought as he felt himself being basically manipulated by his own 10 year old student.

The girl kept kissing him all over his neck before beginning to move towards his chest. Aoki was 90% sure by now that there was no stopping them anymore. He knew that sooner or later he would break and his mind would be overcome by his instinctual urges. That will be the point when neither of them will be able to stop.

Aoki: "_Is this the end? Did Rin finally win? Was I seduced by a 10 year old girl…? Wait…..what?_" he suddenly realized it. He was about to lose his virginity. He, a 23 year old man, was going to give his virginity to a 10 year old girl. How pathetic was that?

He had not been able to do it with anyone else before and now he was going to lose it to this child. He felt ashamed of himself. As more and more natural urges were beginning to take over his body his mind suddenly felt depression as he realized how pathetic he was.

Aoki: "_Still…this is what she wants. Even if I'd rather keep it for someone else….that doesn't matter anymore. This is about me trying to make her happy! If I'm able to grant Kokonoe her last wishes then I should do it. As her….lover….that's the only thing left I can do….._" he closed his eyes in acceptance. He couldn't believe how much his life could change just because of this little girl. She was truly amazing…..both in a good and in a bad sense.

The girl didn't know about her teacher's inner struggle however as she kept stimulating his nether regions, skillfully stroking and exciting every single sensitive spot on his manhood. She was so close to getting to enjoy him. To be honest, she was nervous as well about what they were going to do in the near future. However, she knew that she had to act tonight when he was still vulnerable. She understood the fact that once he will find out that her condition had been fake all this time she would lose any type of influence over him so she had to make her move now when she still had the chance. She didn't have the time to be reluctant and so she was forcing herself to move forwards. Still, there was still that part of her mind which was desiring him and which made her want to do that with him no matter what. Indeed, she was curious about sex.

Although she was barely 10 she still wanted to take a quick peek at what adults' pleasure was like. It was that childish curiosity which made her want to see how the world actually was. She wanted to see how being loved by a mature man felt like. It was an instinctual desire and impulse.

After a couple of minutes of continuous stimulation the man couldn't contain himself anymore. He suddenly lost it as he moved his hands on her small body and picked her up.

Rin: "Huh? Sensei, what are y-….." but that was when he got up as well and then he placed her on the bed, this time with himself being on top of her. The girl could only stare at his sudden rushed and uncharacteristic behavior. "W-what are yo-…."

Aoki: "I'm sorry….." he whispered lowly before placing his mouth over hers and silencing her with pleasure. He couldn't help himself anymore. He wanted to take control over the situation. His instincts were telling his body to do that and he couldn't stop the urges anymore. The girl didn't mind though as him being on top didn't make her feel uncomfortable. It just made her feel ever better for some reason.

Rin: "Sensei….AH!" she suddenly screamed as she felt cold fingers on one of her nipples. Still he kissed her once again and made the scream be subsided with moans of pleasure. This felt unusually weird. She had never known this side of her teacher before. For him to be this aggressive and dominant all of a sudden didn't really feel right to her.

Aoki: "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?" he asked worriedly as he regained some sort of his old personality back when he saw her forcefully squeezing her eyes. However when she opened them back she gazed back into his with a warm smile.

Rin: "Sensei, I never noticed this side of you!" she teased before she kissed him back and made him lose it once again.

Then, just to tempt him she pulled his other hand and moved it down to her panties before pushing it inside. The man instantly froze as he parted his lips and looked at her.

Aoki: "Rin…..do you really want me that much? You do know that I'm going to take your virginity after this is over, right?" to that she simply nodded as she directed his fingers to her womanhood.

Rin: "It's ok, sensei. I've been waiting for this moment for so long although you never wanted to give me pleasure!"

Aoki: "But…Rin. You're just a child!" he tried to reason with her only for her to get mad at that remark.

Rin: "So what?" she suddenly said with a forced voice.

Aoki: "Huh?" he was startled at her sudden display of anger and seriousness.

Rin: "So what if I am a child? Does that mean I don't have the right to love someone? Sensei, that's not fair! I want to see every aspect of life, at least, now that I still have it….." she knew she was just overusing that excuse but that was her main and only weapon, a weapon which seemed to be very effective against this man though.

Aoki, saddened by her words, left himself be convinced by her and simply decided to go with the flow. He moved his hand back out of her panty and then joined it with the other to pull both her pajamas and panties down.

Now, she was completely naked and exposed to him.

Rin: "Sensei…." she blushed a little as she began to feel a little uncomfortable against his stare at her nude self although she didn't complain about it nor did she try to cover herself at all. The man stared a little at her private parts not really sure what he was supposed to do now. He was confused.

He could have tried to pleasure her with his fingers but he soon realized that that was not an option simply because he didn't know even which hole to enter or how to do it. He could only hope that his lack of experience would not ruin this night for them.

In the end he made up his mind and decided to try something he never had thought he would ever do. He lowered his head and approached the area between her legs. At seeing that the girl suddenly shivered.

Rei: "Sensei?" she was then suddenly assaulted by a wave of mixed feelings as she felt his tongue brushing her petals. The man decided to coat her lower lips with his saliva while also touching every spot between them with his tongue in an attempt to find a sensitive spot to make her squeal.

As he did that the woman stayed silent enjoying the small doses of pleasure which she was regularly receiving from the man. It wasn't much but he was inexperienced so it wasn't like she was expecting him to make her lose her mind or anything.

Aoki just experimented with her body right now, trying to learn as much as he could. He knew he was failing miserably because of his lack of experience but he was trying his best. He wasn't really that much accustomed with the female anatomy so he lacked any knowledge or skill in this situation.

Rin: "You're doing fine, Aoki!" she told him in an encouraging way knowing that he was probably scolding himself right then because of ineptitude. "It feels good!" he didn't know if she was being honest when saying that or just trying to be polite. He really wanted to know the real answer but decided to just continue.

Aoki: "Rin…" the thought of her being a 10 year old girl kept popping up in his head every few moments like a way for his mind to try to warn him that he was doing something completely wrong and that he should stop. But at this point he ceased to listen to that part of his brain as he continued his attempts at making her scream his name.

He didn't know if her lack of reaction to his stimulus was because of his inexperience or because of the fact that her sexual organs were still underdeveloped. He could tell just from the taste of her honey and from her overall private smell that she had not even began her periods yet. There were pretty obvious signs that her pussy was still developing in its own way. It was clear that she wasn't even sexually active and that she wanted sex just because of her love for him and curiosity. She had never been too lustful of physical pleasure, now that he thought about it. She had never shown any sign of wanting to actually be pleasured by a man in that way. She just strived for emotional attachment, just like any child and any joke at sex was made simply to scare him. That meant that she was probably just curious about it and that was what was driving her actions. And thinking about her status as a virgin as well, that hypothesis wasn't really that farfetched.

Knowing this the man suddenly parted his mouth from her womanhood and stared at her in the eyes.

Aoki: "Rin…are you sure you want this? You're not doing this just because of you wanting to make me feel good before you die, are you?"

Rin: "Huh? No!" she immediately denied it. "Sensei…..I really don't understand. Why are you so reluctant! Why do you keep hesitating?"

Aoki: "That's…because…I've always known you as a child. But….if we'll actually do this tonight…I'll never see you in the same light again! You'll lose your innocence!" he said with a disappointed look to which the girl responded with a glare.

Rin: "That's the point…..sensei. I never liked seeing you treat me like a child. Didn't I tell you that at the hospital? I want you to start seeing me as a real woman!" he couldn't believe the glare she was looking at him with. It was almost like he had hit a nerve for some reason.

Aoki: "But I-…" he was stopped however as she pulled his mouth back into her flower with her arms to stop him from saying pointless things anymore. The man decided to listen to her and not to make her any more angry tonight, especially not when they were about to do it. "_I see...well…..if that's what you want Rin, then I don't have a choice!_" he thought as he finally began to enjoy the sex. He began to move more thoroughly and rapidly around her lips in an attempt to stimulate her better. Eventually his tongue reached her clitoris and the girl began to let out moans of pleasure. Now she was finally experiencing real biological happiness.

She began to clench her legs around his head while he kept up with his ministrations. This was incredibly stimulation. The man began to notice her pussy starting to become more and more moist as he kept teasing that area and it wasn't because of his saliva. It was pretty obvious that, although undeveloped, her organs were still doing their best to generate lubrication. It felt like he was forcing her body a little since she still wasn't prepared for this but he continued to pleasure her nonetheless since that was what she wanted.

Her pussy had been small at first although for some reason it began to inflate a little after him managing to arouse her. Her skin was soft and delicate and the feminine smell which began to emanate from her were extremely arousing for him. Her taste wasn't really incredible in any way although for some reason he enjoyed to absorb her personal aroma. And after some time her moans began to grow unusually loud as her breathing started the grow and her blood began to rush through her entire body.

Rin: "Aoki….." she whispered in an awkward voice though the man wisely chose to ignore that. Despite her trying to keep her voice low her moans were becoming increasingly loud and he was worried that her guardian might hear them. If that were to happen then all hell would break loose.

After another couple of minutes he eventually stopped in order to calm the girl who was beginning to make unholy sounds which had the potential of giving them away.

Rin: "Aoki…you're really getting the hang of this…" that smile on her face was pretty much assuring him that she had enjoyed it. He couldn't really believe it but he had managed to pleasure a woman for the first time in his life.

He sighed in a relieved way although that didn't last too long before her hands undid his belt all of a sudden.

Aoki: "_(surprised) _Uh…..KOKONOE!" he almost yelled at that sudden surprise although she quickly put a finger over his lips in a sign of silencing. He immediately understood the message and tried to calm down as she pulled his pants down.

Rin: "Sensei…..you did a good job with me. Now it's my turn!" she then pulled his boxers down only for her to be greeted by the sight of her teacher's manhood fully erect. The sheer size and volume of that thing only made her heart cringe. "_Is that…..supposed to enter me?!_" she was definitely not feeling confident after she saw that.

She was afraid that if she put that in her mouth she might even choke. That's why she first wanted to explore and try to understand it before doing anything else. Aoki couldn't move. His brain was desperately trying to tell him to stop her but his instincts were preventing that from happening so his body just remained there motionless.

The girl unveiled the skin of his head as she stared at his purple organ in pure curiosity. Since she had never seen anything like that in real life she still needed to see for herself how it actually felt to pleasure a man. Because of the fact that she was a little scared of putting it in her mouth and so she just grabbed it with her fingers and began stroking it. She didn't know what she was doing but from what she had previously found out stroking usually brings pleasure to a man. Aoki didn't react too harsh to that as he felt lustful fire burning from her slow but delicate motions on his member. He was feeling like he was losing himself the more he was allowing her to do that. And he was enjoying it.

Rin: "Does….this feel good?" his head nodded to that and she began increasing her pace then. "Sensei, I never knew you were this big!" he didn't know how he was supposed to respond to that. He just stood there silently while taking in the pleasure.

Rin simply continued to stimulate it until, after another few seconds some liquid formed on the opening of his urethra.

Rin: "_Is that…..his precum?_" she stared at it wonderingly. For a small girl like herself such a sight was completely knew and so she naturally wanted to find more things out about that thing like any little girl trying to discover about the world. The man noticed her stopping and so he looked down only to see her approaching his dick with her small tongue.

Aoki couldn't say anything. He just stared at her. She eventually licked the head very lightly almost like she was scared while trying to enjoy the taste of the weird substance.

Aoki: "K-Kokonoe! I don't think you want to do that!" he suddenly snapped out of his trance and tried to talk her out of it although the girl kept licking his hole to try to sense some taste.

Rin: "You got to taste me, didn't you sensei? Now it's my turn!" she smiled childishly at him. Just before he could stop her she continued to lick his lower head trying to feel the taste of his precum.

To put it bluntly, it wasn't that tasteful and it wasn't enough for her tongue to distinguish an aroma or anything. However, seeing the man already trembling a little at the touch of her tongue made her smirk at him before continuing to tickle him with it all around his shaft. She was afraid of putting it in her mouth but apparently just teasing its head with licks was enough. The taste was very vague but it was more than what his precum had had. The smell wasn't persistent but the taste was there and it felt extremely potent like it was naturally stimulating her. She enjoyed that and so she continued to lick every part of his penis. Aoki couldn't stand the teasing.

At least putting it in her mouth would have been bearable since it would have been a sudden gush of pleasure most likely. However, by just licking and tickling his most sensitive part like that almost like giving him pleasure to tempt him but also limiting it to make it even more precious was just torture. It was like having someone tickling you with a feather but you being unable to scratch that area. It was pleasurable but painful at the same time.

He could feel his groin about to explode at the persistent teasing as his penis began to instinctually twitch. The girl stopped what she was doing and when she looked at Aoki's painful expression she immediately got worried.

Rin: "S-Sensei! I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" she looked worried at him however, the fact that he had lost even the little stimulation he had only made him even more anxious.

Aoki: "Rin…I can't take this anymore! I…want…you!" he had to force those words out of his mouth because of the last fragments of his brain trying to restrain him. This was too much. With that much teasing and no real thing his hormones were about to kill him. He knew he lost it but he had to get rid of these feelings. He was in suffer right now, simply because after 23 years of not having sex his body was about to explode even after so little stimulation.

Seeing the pain in his eyes and the desperation hiding behind them made the child cringe a little in fear, almost like being scared of him starting to go wild on her any moment then. However, she soon saw how he was still trying to restrain himself and she understood that this behavior was most likely her fault for just teasing him instead of giving him the real thing.

Rin: "Then….take me!" she said spreading her legs and inviting him to the mating. Seeing her wet pussy waiting for him so invitingly was too much for his gone mad hormones. He was screeching almost because of the pain. "I wonder how lost you're going to last in me…..since you're a virgin!" she decided to tease him emotionally a little bit since she also wanted to break his mental resistance as well and provoke him. "I'm guessing no more than 3 minutes!" but Aoki didn't care about the teasing any longer. He just wanted to plunge his member in her and take her virginity already. He wanted to be inside her and relieve himself from this awful pain.

He grabbed her by the legs and pulled her to him as he placed his hands on each side besides her head as pylons to support his body while being on top of her. The girl yelped at the sudden forcefulness but her body acted in favor of that as her legs instinctively spread at that and so did her opening.

The man approached her hole with his member but soon stopped as he noticed something perturbing: none of her holes were big enough to allow him inside. She was still undeveloped and so her womanhood was not yet ready for being deflowered. The girl stood there clenching her fingers and teeth in a worried motion, bracing herself for the pain. However, after 30 seconds of just anxiously waiting for the penetration she looked up to see what was keeping her teacher from not giving her heavenly pleasures.

Rin: "Sensei?" she looked at him with a puzzled look.

Aoki: "I…won't fit in there….." he was almost laughing at the irony of the situation. This was just sad by this point.

The girl immediately sat up with a dissatisfied and worried look.

Rin: "What?" she couldn't believe his words as she grabbed his member and tried inserting it inside herself. However when she did so she noticed the same thing: fitting his pole inside her was not going to be an easy task.

This was scary. She knew that there was no way they could fit that in there without hurting her and that made her even more worried. They could try to force it but they both knew that she was going to suffer a lot if that happened.

Rin: "_Ahhh, come on! This is just unfair!_" she began to ponder to quickly find a way of solving this issue before they would both lose their mood. And that's when an idea popped up in her mind.

Rin: "Ah, maybe a condom will do it!" the sudden idea only made the man confused.

Aoki: "Huh? How is that going to help?" he asked completely losing track of her train of thought.

Rin: "It has lubrication, doesn't it? It should help it slip inside easier right?" but he did not respond while still trying to process what she was trying to tell him.

He didn't know what to say, simply because, to his shame, he had never even used a condom his whole life. He had learned how to use them but he had no idea that condoms even had lubrication.

Aoki: "_(looking away)_ Demo…..Kokonoe…I don't have any condoms with me right now….." he tried to emphasize while still teasing her petals with his manhood just to keep himself going and not lose it completely.

Rin: "Ah geez…sensei when you come to a woman's house you don't just go there without any protection!" he sweat dropped at her for trying to teach him about these things even though he was the one way older than her. Still, she soon sat up and went for the drawer.

Aoki: "Huh?" it didn't take too long for the girl to turn back around with a cheerful face and then showing him a plastic encasement in her hand.

Rin: "Luckily for you, I had these here just in case!" she proudly showed him the condom which made her teacher just smile awkwardly and ironically at her.

Aoki: "_Why do you keep condoms in your drawer? You're just a 10 year old girl, aren't you?_" he decided not to question this situation anymore since he valued his sanity. Instead he just went for it. Still, due to sexual tension between them, sheer clumsiness and other factors he accidentally hit the condom with the back of his hand when trying to grab it from the girl.

The small object fell down on the floor.

Rin: "Ah!"

Aoki: "Don't worry! I'll get it!" he rushed for it but the girl quickly ran up to him in an attempt to stop him from bending down.

Rin: "No, sensei! Don't!" she began to scream but her teacher ignored her since he was already searching the floor for the object. Since he couldn't see it anywhere at all he concluded that it must have somehow slid under the bed. He forced his hand under her bed and soon he felt something down there. He pulled it out to light and the thing turned out to be just a stash of papers. Rin's face immediately turned white.

Aoki: "Huh, what are these?" he couldn't help but wonder why this girl would keep such papers under her bed. Had she hidden them there because they were some of her old tests? Or were they just part of an old homework? As her teacher he immediately became curious and started reading the writing on them.

Rin: "N-nothing! It's nothing! Don't read it!" but persuade as she could the man did not stop reading it and soon his eyes fell down on the writing on the bottom of the page.

_Paper: "Final Results: No traces of cancer could be found in the patient's body"_ he stood there, completely taken aback at what was inked on the paper in his hands.

He stared and stared and stared at them in pure bewilderment while the small child kept on pulling on his arm trying to distract him from reading.

Aoki: "_What….are these? Are they Rin's test results?!_" he looked again just to make sure he had read it correctly and sure enough that was the right text. He tried searching the other parts of the paper as well and it was pretty obvious that the sheet was indeed an official medical report of some sort.

Rin was desperately trying to tug on him to get his eyes off the paper but to no avail as Aoki's curious nature had been awoken.

Rin: "Sensei, stop reading that! C'mon I found another condom! Now let's get busy before Reiji comes back!" it didn't help at all as he was completely absorbed in those papers. "Sensei!" she almost screamed in his ear but even that wasn't working. Yep, she lost him.

Aoki: "_And the patient's name is Kokonoe….this is hers, no doubt about it. Maybe it's from an earlier date and that's why it's inaccurate?_" but when he checked the date of the report he soon saw that it wasn't older than a single day. And that's when something reacted in his brain.

His eyes went wide and his skin shivered all of a sudden as the realization hit him so hard he felt like he had just jumped off a high-speed train into a 30 meter dive into the ocean. Suddenly anger and rage began to burn inside his chest as his fingers suddenly clenched ruffling the papers between his fingers. His eyebrows twitched in compulsive ways almost like a patient from an psychological irregularities ward.

The girl shivered. The murderous feel radiating from her teacher immediately pushed her back to the wall as she tried to think of a way to get out of this now.

Rin: "Sensei….I mean….Aoki….those are just…..pranks from a hospital! Yeah! Those aren't true at all!" she started inventing excuses to save the situation. Still, Aoki didn't listened to her anymore and with his eyes being covered by his hair and with a very calm looking expression and low voice he asked very gently:

Aoki: "Rin….." he began. Rin stiffened at the hearing of her name instantly. The way he said it was way too calm and, ironically, that was making her even more scared. His sudden collected attitude and demeanor were unnatural for this situation and that in itself was screaming that he was about to snap at any moment now. It was like the calm before the storm, the sinister silence a murderer would give you to attract you into a false sense of security before taking your life.

Rin: "What…is it?"

Aoki: "I just realized something." he calmly stated. She immediately began to guess what that something was and began to frantically deny anything which could exit his mouth.

Rin: "Sensei, everything written there is false! That hospital is wrong an-…."

Aoki: "How come you never coughed at all today?" she froze. She stood there completely shot down by that sudden question. She then had realized that she had forgotten to keep up with her sick persona façade that day simply because of the fact that when she had met with Aoki outside that day his beat up condition and the shock from what she had seen had made her forget about the necessity of trying to fake her disease anymore. After the hours the thought had not popped up in her mind anymore and neither Reiji nor Aoki had seemed to realize it either anymore until now. But now…..now that her teacher had become aware of the truth he also seemed to begin to question every single inconsistency in her acts.

Rin: "Be-be-because the medicine started helping me lately!" in her frenzy she began to spit out whatever excuse she could come up with in the hopes that it would somehow convince him. Sadly for her it was already too late.

Aoki: "Last time we met you said that the doctors never gave you any medicine!" it was over. They both knew it. She just stood there covering her breasts because of a sudden struck of shame for some reason. When seeing her lack of response the teacher understood everything.

This was just laughable. He had been deceived by a 10 year old girl. He felt the need to laugh at his own stupidity but for some reason the more he tried to chuckle the more he felt a flare growing inside his soul as veins began to pop from behind the skin covering his skull. The more he thought about this night, the more he began thinking about everything they shared and the more he realized how close she was to actually deceiving him…..that was it.

He turned his head towards her with a face only a blood thirsty serial killer would throw at his next victim. Poor Kokonoe stood there bracing herself for the upcoming burst. She knew her teacher would begin his attack any second now. He was almost trembling in fury right now, like a bomb about to go off.

He was on the verge of screaming, of mutilating, of raping, of every bad thing which he could bring upon this child at once. He knew he was about to lose it and the more he stared at her awkward and nervous smile the more he felt the need to strangle her. She was trying to fake laughter in an attempt to brush this whole situation off as a joke since now, she knew very well that there was no other believable excuse which she could invent. Still, her awkward was only increasing his anger apparently.

And that moment she began to move her lips.

Rin: "I'm taking it you're not in the mood anymore?" he lost it at that and burst.

Aoki: "KOKONOE!"

~Next day, classroom~

Rin: "Ahh, man, this sucks!" she moaned in displeasure while her best friends just stared at her with their mouths opened agape at her sudden revelation.

Kuro: "WHAT!? No more TV, snacks or cakes for 3 whole months!? ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Rin nodded at that in a very sad way.

Rin: "Reiji was furious at me last night. He gave me a 2 hour long lecture and wouldn't even let me sleep! I think I could hear his voice even in my nightmares!" it had been indeed an horrendous night. After Aoki had screamed her name at the top of his lungs and had woken all of their neighbors it didn't take long before Reiji had arrived in that room completely scared.

When he had noticed both her and her teacher naked he immediately had attacked Aoki out of instinct. Funny thing was that that was the first time Aoki fought back in recorded history. He had punched Reiji back and almost cracked his skull. She had not believed her eyes when she had seen that. It had been true that Aoki had been extremely mad at that point. Things had calmed down thankfully afterwards and after Reiji had learned the truth and had read those same accursed papers hell had broken loose in her room. Aoki had left them alone and went home after getting dressed again and that was when her torment had begun.

Rin: "_Leaving me alone with Reiji when he was like that in such a situation…Aoki-sensei, you're so cruel!_" only mere flashbacks of the previous night was giving her headaches. "Ahhh, and I was so close to taking him!" she cried all of a sudden as that realization suddenly popped up in her head once again.

Kuro: "WHAT?! But…how close did you two get…?"

Rin: "_(crying mentally) _Aaaahhhhh, he was just a few millimeters from entering me!" she was about to faint. It seemed that her plan had failed after all partly. Still, now she had enough weapons to use against him from now on, especially since she wanted her revenge on her teacher for abandoning her like that the previous night, ruining her plan and leaving her unfinished. Now that they had done so much last night she could use all of that against him, not just in teasing but also in embarrassing him. And luckily for her Aoki had just entered the classroom.

The man walked to his desk preparing to begin his lesson when Rin ran directly to him with a cheerful face on her. At the sight of her the man only tensed his muscles and twitched his eyebrows out of annoyance. After the previous night he was not willing to speak with this girl at all anymore. He had trusted her, he had pitied her and he had also tried to give her comfort only for him to be betrayed. That obviously didn't bode too well with him.

Aoki: "_(trying to calm his nerves) _Kokonoe….go back to your sit!" he was basically trying to control his nerves right now when seeing this girl. At this point he was certain that he was holding a grudge against her. Then again, who could blame him?

After what he had gone through she had been lucky because he had not strangled her yet. He was not in the mood to talk to her anymore. Kokonoe noticed his anger against her quickly growing once again and decided to strike right then when he was so emotionally vulnerable.

Rin: "Demo, sensei, I wanted to apologize to you after last night!" she tried to use her innocent girl card once again. Still her teacher did not buy that anymore as he glared at her.

Aoki: "I don't need your apologies, Kokonoe! Now get back to your seat already!" he was furious with her, that much was certain. Not that she had expected anything else. She knew he had all the rights to be furious with her. Still that doesn't mean she wasn't going to tease him.

Rin: "Demo, sensei, you look tired right now! Did you not sleep well last night? Are you sick?" he was screeching his teeth at this point. He felt every nerve in him about to snap all at once. The way this little demon was trying to act all innocent and cute with him was only contributing to his homicidal instincts. He wanted to slap her, punch her, rape her, torture her and then rape her again until she would never want to have sex with him ever again.

Aoki: "Kokonoe…..I'm warning you…..I'm not in the mood for this today…"

Rin: "Demo, sensei, as your future wife it's my duty to make sure that you're healthy!" at that all the kids in the classroom gasped all at once as they all stared at the teacher and the kid in front of them.

Aoki: "_(growing dangerously angry)_ I AM NOT YOUR HUSBAND!"

Rin: "Demo, you promised you will marry me, didn't you? Right before we began to do it last night!" at this point every kid almost fainted from what they were hearing as Aoki was about to break his teeth from the stress.

Aoki: "_Is she actually using last night as a means to manipulate me now!? I can't believe this girl!_" she had no shame at all. She was probably just as furious at him for exposing her plan to her guardian the previous night and he guessed that she was probably getting her revenge now with this. Still…to reveal such things to the whole class?

Aoki: "_Kokonoe…..I swear…..I'm going to discipline you after today! If you say any more embarrassing words in front of my class I'm going to-…_"

Rin: "Ah, by the way, sensei…How did I taste?" she averted her gaze from him as her cheeks reddened a little. That was it. She was just humiliating him in front of his whole class. He wasn't going to take any of this anymore. "In my opinion you tasted pretty goo-…..AHH!" she suddenly sprinted away from him as she saw him making a dash towards her. However, being an energetic child she was able to run away from him pretty easily and avoid getting caught.

Aoki: "KOKONOE! DON'T RUN! COME BACK HERE!" he was struggling to catch her. Fortunately for her she went through some unoccupied desks and ran in the other direction afterwards exploiting the fact that he was too big to follow her through that route.

Taking advantage of that she managed to get to the other side of the classroom.

Rin: "Don't worry, sensei! Next time I'll be sure to get to your virginity as well!" she said that while kissing her hand and blowing in it in a flirtatious way to him. The infuriated man dashed towards her as she exited the classroom laughing childishly with him right behind.

Aoki: "KOKONOE!"

* * *

And that was it. Goddamn, this was some long ass story. I want to thank everyone who kept reading all this much and also I hope you enjoyed every piece of it. If you didn't then all I can say in my defense is that….well…I tried.

This was intended to be just an addition to the comedy of the original series and so it is not meant to be taken seriously, nor did I make it with the intent of providing any sequel to it either. So….well….sorry about that but there will be no more KnJ fan fictions from me.

In a sense I'm also planning to revive my account and begin posting some other stories of another certain anime in the future (not Tokyo Mew Mew, that's dead now) but I make no promises.


End file.
